Crude oil exposure affects air-breathing frequency, blood phosphate levels and ion regulation in an air-breathing teleost fish, Hoplosternum littorale.

Exposure of a facultative air breather, Hoplosternum littorale, to 12.5, 25, and 37.5% of the water soluble fraction (WSF) of Urucu crude oil, resulted in a rapid increase in air-breathing frequency (ABF) sustained over the 45 min period of exposure. Following 4 h exposure to a graded increase in WSF up to 50%, there was no significant affect on haematocrit, or plasma [Na+] and [K+]. Crude oil ingestion resulted in some degree of ion regulatory impairment, however results were variable. A single oral dose of 3.0 ml/kg of Urucu crude elevated net whole body Na+ efflux and resulted in a 7% reduction in plasma [Na+] 72 h following ingestion. A single oral dose of 3.0 ml/kg resulted in a significant net whole body K+ efflux and a reduction in plasma [K+] 24 h after ingestion. No mortalities were observed in any exposure regime in this study. An oral dose of Urucu crude oil at 3.0 ml/kg also resulted in a 24% reduction in ATP:Hb ratio (from 0.206 to 0.157) and a 31% reduction in GTP:Hb ratio (0.455 to 0.315) 24 h following ingestion indicating that these fish may be hypoxemic. Taken together, these results indicate that exposure of H. littorale to Urucu crude oil affects gas exchange and ion regulation.

Variation in the risk of peptic ulcer complications with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of perforation or hemorrhage of peptic ulcer on treatment with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), both as a class and as individual agents. METHODS: A case-control study of medication histories in 494 patients and 972 matched control subjects. RESULTS: The increase in risk (odds ratio) with NSAID therapy was 5.1 times the risk in controls. The odds ratio for piroxicam was 6.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.3-12.0), as compared with 2.9 for diclofenac, ketoprofen, and sulindac combined (95% CI 2.0-4.2). The effect of other risk factors was also considered, and the adjusted odds ratios were 4.1 for all NSAIDs, 6.4 (95% CI 2.8-15.0) for piroxicam, and 3.3 (95% CI 2.0-5.5) for diclofenac, ketoprofen, and sulindac combined. CONCLUSION: The estimate of overall risk of peptic ulcer complications with NSAIDs is similar to that found in other studies. There appear to be differences in risk between agents.