Establishment of an HIV/sexually transmitted disease programme and prevalence of infection among incarcerated men in Jamaica.

The goal of this study is to describe the establishment of an HIV testing and treatment programme in the Jamaican correctional system and to estimate the prevalence of HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) among adult incarcerated men in this country. A demonstration project was implemented by the Jamaican Department of Correctional Services and Ministry of Health in the nation's largest correctional centre. All inmates were offered HIV and syphilis testing, and a subset was offered chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomoniasis testing. Cross-sectional data from the project were reviewed to determine the prevalence and correlates of HIV/STD. HIV test acceptance was 63% for voluntary testers (n = 1200). The prevalence of HIV was 3.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.33-4.64) (n = 1017) and the prevalence syphilis was 0.7% (95% CI 0.29-1.49) (n = 967). Among the subset tested (n = 396) the prevalence of chlamydia was 2.5% (95% CI 1.22-4.49) and for trichomoniasis it was 1.8% (95% CI 0.01-3.60), but no cases of gonorrhoea were detected (n = 396). The prevalence of HIV was significantly higher at 25% (95% CI 13.64-39.60) for persons located in a separate section where individuals labelled as men who have sex with men (MSM) are separated. HIV/STD testing is important and feasible in Jamaica. A special focus should be placed on providing services to inmates labelled as MSM. Other Caribbean nations may also benefit from similar programmes.

Characterization of histamine release induced by fluoroquinolone antibacterial agents in-vivo and in-vitro.

Characterization of histamine release induced by fluoroquinolone antibacterial agents, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, was investigated in-vivo and in-vitro. Intravenous injection of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin at 1-10 mg kg(-1) produced dose-related elevations in plasma histamine level in anaesthetized dogs. In contrast, levofloxacin was devoid of plasma histamine increment in anaesthetized rats at 100 mg kg(-1), whereas ciprofloxacin at the same dose caused endogenous histamine release. Levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin induced non-cytotoxic secretion of histamine from all mast cells tested in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas rat skin and peritoneal mast cells were thirty- to one-hundred-times less sensitive to the effect of fluoroquinolones as compared with the canine skin mast cells. These results suggest that the functional heterogeneity of mast cells from different species in histamine releasing activity of fluoroquinolones may exist, and that mast cells from the dog appear to be particularly sensitive to the effect of the fluoroquinolones.

Mechanism of histamine release induced by levofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent.

The present study was designed to clarify the mechanism of histamine release caused by levofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent, using rat peritoneal mast cells. Levofloxacin induced a concentration-dependent histamine secretion from 300 microg/ml without lactate dehydrogenase leakage, and the release was rapidly completed within 30 s. This action was dependent on temperature, energy, pH and intracellular Ca(2+), similarly to the effect of compound 48/80, a basic compound. Unlike that with the calcium ionophore A23187, histamine secretion due to levofloxacin or compound 48/80 was prevented by pretreatment with either pertussis toxin or benzalkonium chloride, a selective inhibitor of G proteins of G(i) subtypes. Moreover, the histamine release elicited by levofloxacin or compound 48/80 was suppressed by hydrolysis of sialic acid residues on the cell surface brought about by neuraminidase. These results demonstrate that the mechanism by which levofloxacin exerts histamine release may be closely linked to activation of pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins.

Calculation of maximal removal rate of indocyanine green to measure hepatic functional mass in dogs by use of the nine-hour method.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a versatile and reliable procedure for the determination of indocyanine green maximal removal rate (ICG Rmax) to measure hepatic functional mass in dogs within 9 hours (9-hour method). DESIGN: Relation between 9-hour and standard 3-day methods was examined. ANIMALS: 101 healthy dogs. PROCEDURE: On investigation of the optimal technical conditions allowing completion of all procedures in a day, the appropriate IV administered doses of ICG were 0.125, 0.5, and 2.0 mg/kg of body weight, and the best blood sample collection times for obtaining plasma half-life at these 3 doses were before and 3, 6, and 9 minutes after ICG administration. RESULTS: Comparison of the 9-hour with 3-day method yielded a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.84, indicating close (P < 0.01) correlation. In the 9-hour method, mean +/- SD of ICG Rmax in healthy dogs was 0.24 +/- 0.09 mg/kg/min in male (n = 62) and was 0.23 +/- 0.06 mg/kg/min in female (n = 21) Beagles, and was 0.21 +/- 0.10 mg/kg/min in male (n = 11) and 0.20 +/- 0.07 mg/kg/min in female (n = 7) mixed-breed dogs. In Beagles treated orally with carbon tetrachloride (0.1 ml/kg in gelatine capsules) thrice weekly during a 10-week period, plasma alanine transaminase activity plateaued at a high value (> 2,000 IU/L) on day 5, and remained at this value until the end of the study. The ICG Rmax changed accordingly: day 5, 0.17; day 10, 0.11; day 40, 0.05; and day 60, 0.06 mg/kg/min. CONCLUSION: The 9-hour method for determination of ICG Rmax correlates favorably with the 3-day method. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This procedure may be practically applied in veterinary clinics in terms of prediction of hepatic functional mass, and for diagnosis of hepatotoxicosis induced by certain compounds.