The pattern of antimicrobial use in general hospitals in Egypt.

This work was carried out to study the pattern of use of antimicrobial agents in Egypt. 2034 files were selected from two general hospitals by a systematic random sampling method, and the data concerning the antimicrobials were collected from each file. The results of this study showed that there was misuse of these agents both in therapy and prophylaxis. Antibiotics were prescribed to 80.17% of admitted patients. In most of the cases they were prescribed without documented proof of infection and were prescribed for conditions in which antimicrobial use is not justified for either therapy or prophylaxis. Among patients who received antibiotics, 30.8% received repeated courses, in most of whom there was no reasonable indication.

Interferon in chronic active hepatitis B. Preliminary results.

Twenty patients with documented chronic active hepatitis B were randomized in equal numbers to either an alpha-2b interferon treatment group or a control group with no treatment. Patients in the first group received 5 IU interferon three times weekly by subcutaneous injection for 16 weeks. All 20 patients were HBeAg positive at the beginning. All 10 patients in the interferon-treated group lost their initial e antigen while only 2 patients in the control group turned HBeAg negative. Six patients in the treated group acquired HBe antibodies in comparison with two patients only in the untreated group. Other markers of suppression of viral replication as well as a 24-month follow-up are ongoing at the moment for final assessment of the value of interferon therapy in chronic active hepatitis B.

Aspirin stability in solid dispersion binary systems.

The stability of aspirin in its solid dispersion with urea or povidone was investigated at two accelerated storage conditions. The observed aspirin degradation in both systems followed the first-order rate equation. The water sorption ability of the two carriers as well as the alkalinity imparted by urea could possibly be the most important factors responsible for the observed acceleration of aspirin decomposition. The results also showed that the temperature effect was more pronounced than the humidity effect. Generally, coprecipitated samples exhibited slightly higher degradation rates than physically mixed ones.

The effect of dihydroxypropyl theophylline on the solubility and stability of menadione (vitamin K3).

The effect of dihydroxypropyl theophylline on the solubility and stability of menadione was investigated. An increase of about 4-fold in the solubility of menadione with 0.1 m dihydroxypropyl theophylline was observed at 30 degrees C. Thermodynamic paremeters were calculated by conducting the experiments at different temperatures. The rate of base-catalyzed degradation of menadione in the presence and absence of dihydroxypropyl theophylline was found to be first order with respect to the vitamin at all conditions of pH, temperature and concentration. Dihydroxypropyl theophylline leads to an accelerated rate of decomposition of the drug at relatively high pH values. This adverse effect decreases considerably as the pH of the solution approaches neutrality. At pH = 7.5, dihydroxypropyl theophylline exerts a rather stabilizing effect on menadione solution. The enhancement of the rate of base-catalyzed degradation is directly proportional to the concentration of dehydroxypropyl theophylline at pH = 9.2. The base-catalyzed degradation of menadione in the absence and presence of dihydroxypropyl theophylline follows Arrhenius' equation for the thermal activation of molecules. No noticeable variation in the energy of activation of both systems was detected. The addition of 4% dihydroxypropyl theophylline to menadione solution nearly completely suppressed the aerobic photodegradation of menadione.

Histopathology and histochemistry of the kidney in marasmic Egyptian children.

Percutaneous renal biopsy was done in 15 infants and children with third degree marasmus and in five normal controls. All the cases were free from infection. Histopathological changes as shown in sections stained with hematoxylin and cosin include patchy areas of colloid degeneration and thickening of the walls of some blood vessels in 10 out of 15 marasmic cases. Some proximal convoluted tubules appeared small or atrophic, others are somewhat dilated with decreased thickness of their walls, while others showed necrotic changes. The distal convoluted tubules in the medulla appeared vacuolated and distorted. The activity of the enzyme succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) is markedly inhibited especially in the distal convoluted tubules in all the patients studied.