Partners in our care: patient safety from a patient perspective.

The voice and role of "patient" in patient safety were explored by the Calgary Health Region's Patient and Family Safety Council perspective and the Calgary Health Region, Calgary, Alberta, Canada--an important collaboration for enhanced patient safety. Insights into patient safety were shared and coauthored in this article by the Patient and Family Safety Council with members of the Calgary Health Region staff. The Patient and Family Safety Council members were asked to respond to articles written about the role of patient in patient safety, without direct communication with patients. The authors of this article intended to demonstrate only a few of the ways in which patient involvement and feedback through partnership turn knowledge into action and help inform patients about safety practices and procedures.

Covalent binding of PCB metabolites to lipids: route of formation and characterization.

1. After an oral dose of (14)C-labelled 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (CB-77), the conventional germ-free and bile-duct cannulated male Sprague-Dawley rat excreted approximately 80% of the dose in faeces and/or bile within 3 days. 2. For the germ-free and conventional rat, 15% of the dose was excreted via the faeces as metabolites covalently bound to lipids. Bile-duct-cannulated rats excreted similar amounts of lipid-bound metabolites in the bile. The lipid-bound metabolites appear to be formed in the liver and excreted via the bile, and the microflora did not seem essential for the formation of lipid-bound metabolites. 3. The novel CB-77 metabolites had chemical and physical properties similar to those of lipids with regard to solubility and polarity, as determined by partition characteristics on various chromatographic systems. 4. In addition to identification of hydroxylated CB-77 metabolites, several fatty acid esters of hydroxy-chlorobiphenyls were indicated and one hydroxy-tetrachlorobiphenylol palmitoate was identified, but fatty acid esters were minor metabolites. 5. Approximately 70% of the lipid-bound metabolites were present in the fraction that contained phospholipids. The formation of lipid-bound CB-77 metabolites seems a spontaneous reaction rather than an enzymatically catalysed reaction, as indicated by the large number of different lipid-bound metabolites.

Tissue distribution, metabolism, and excretion of 2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl (CB-28) in the rat.

The tissue distribution, metabolism, and excretion of 14C-labeled 2,4,4'-trichlorobiphenyl (CB-28) were studied in the rat. Following intravenous administration, radioactivity was removed from the blood rapidly and distributed to tissues. The time-courses of varying concentrations of CB-28 in tissues and blood were described mathematically using nonlinear regression analysis. The highest concentrations of radioactivity were found in the adipose and skin, which showed distinct uptake phases. High levels were seen at 30 minutes in liver and brain, but quickly declined. Fifty-two percent of the given dose was excreted in feces within 14 days. Intraperitoneal administration to three female rats for five consecutive days provided tissues which were analyzed for metabolites.