Nonprescribed use of tranquilizers and use of other drugs among Brazilian students

Objectives: To describe patterns of nonprescribed use of tranquilizers by students aged 10 to 18 years and assess the sociodemographic characteristics of these adolescents and their use of other substances. Methods: A randomized and stratified sample of 47,979 students from state and private schools of the 27 Brazilian state capitals completed a self-report questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to estimate the associations between tranquilizer use and sociodemographic factors, as well as the use of other psychotropic substances. Results: The lifetime prevalence of nonprescribed use of tranquilizers was 3.9%. Use was most common among girls, wealthier adolescents, and those from private schools. An association was found between use of tranquilizers and lifetime use of alcohol (prevalence ratio [PR] = 3.15; 95% confidence intervals [95%CI] 2.58-3.85), tobacco (PR = 2.61; 95%CI 2.31-2.95), illicit drugs (PR = 3.70; 95%CI 3.19-4.29), and other prescription drugs (PR = 7.03; 95%CI 6.18-7.99). As the number of substances adolescents reported having used increased, so did the nonprescribed use of tranquilizers. Conclusions: Nonprescribed use of tranquilizers by adolescents might indicate the use of other substances, including high-risk combinations such as tranquilizers and alcohol. The risks of this association should be addressed during the early stages of drug prevention programs. .

Clinical efficacy of 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment combined with paroxetine for the treatment of neurodermatitis / 中华皮肤科杂志

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficiency of 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment combined with paroxetine in patients with neurodermatitis associated with insomnia.MethodsTotally,74 patients suffering from neurodermatitis and insomnia were consecutively enrolled in this study,and randomly assigned into the combination group and control group according to their number(odd or even).Both groups were given topical 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment twice a day,and the combination group was additionally given oral paroxetine 10 mg once a day,for 8 weeks.The outcome parameters included main symptoms of neurodermatitis and Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI) score.ResultsNo significant difference was observed in the cure rate (54.3％(19/35) vs.53.1％ (17/32),P＞ 0.05) or response rate (82.9％ (29/35) vs.81.3％ (26/32),P＞ 0.05),between the combination group and control group.PSQI score was significantly lower in the combination group than in the control group after 8 weeks of treatment(P ＜ 0.05).ConclusionsThe 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment can be used to treat neurodermatitis safely.Antianxiety treatment can reduce the recurrence of neurodermatitis associated with insomnia,and improve the quality of sleep in patients.