ABSTRACT
Costa Rica is a tropical country with one of the highest biodiversity on Earth. It also has an intensive agriculture, and pesticide runoff from banana and pineapple plantations may cause a high toxicity risk to non-target species in rivers downstream the plantations. We performed a first tier risk assessment of the maximum measured concentrations of 32 pesticides detected over 4 years in the River Madre de Dios (RMD) and its coastal lagoon on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were plotted in order to derive HC5 values for each pesticide, i.e., hazard concentrations for 5 % of the species, often used as environmental criteria values in other countries. We also carried out toxicity tests for selected pesticides with native Costa Rican species in order to calculate risk coefficients according to national guidelines in Costa Rica. The concentrations of herbicides diuron and ametryn and insecticides carbofuran, diazinon, and ethoprophos exceeded either the HC5 value or the lower limit of its 90 % confidence interval suggesting toxic risks above accepted levels. Risk coefficients of diuron and carbofuran derived using local guidelines indicate toxicity risks as well. The assessed fungicides did not present acute toxic risks according to our analysis. Overall, these results show a possible toxicity of detected pesticides to aquatic organisms and provide a comparison of Costa Rican national guidelines with more refined methods for risk assessment based on SSDs. Further higher tier risk assessments of pesticides in this watershed are also necessary in order to consider pesticide water concentrations over time, toxicity from pesticide mixtures, and eventual effects on ecosystem functions.
Subject(s)
Agriculture , Pesticides/analysis , Rivers/chemistry , Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity , Animals , Aquatic Organisms/drug effects , Costa Rica , Ecosystem , Environmental Monitoring , Pesticides/toxicity , Risk Assessment , Species Specificity , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysisABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Treatment with intravenous immunoglobin (IVIg) in the first two weeks of hospitalization has proven efficiency for shortening recovery time of patients with Guillain- Barré syndrome (GBS). The goal of the study is to determine if early treatment with IVIg in the first days after onset of symptoms has a significant effect on shortening average length of hospital stay. METHODS: We examined retrospectively the records of 69 patients with GBS. Group A (9 patients) received no treatment with IVIg, Group B (31 patients) received treatment on the sixth day or thereafter and Group C (29 patients) received treatment in the first five days from symptoms onset. RESULTS: Mean duration of hospitalisation time for Group A was 47.4 days, for Group B it was 32.4 days and for Group C, 21.3 days (p < 0.001). In summary, treatment with IVIg in the first five days after the onset of GBS symptoms reduces the length of hospitalisation by 11 days. Given the retrospective nature of our study, these findings should be confirmed in a prospective, randomised, multicentric study.
Subject(s)
Guillain-Barre Syndrome/diagnosis , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/drug therapy , Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Length of Stay , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective StudiesSubject(s)
Humans , Male , Adolescent , Myocardial Infarction/complications , Myocardial Infarction/chemically induced , Crack Cocaine/toxicity , Creatine Kinase, MB Form , Troponin , Cocaine-Related Disorders/pathology , Nitroglycerin/therapeutic use , Benzodiazepines/therapeutic use , Aspirin/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Introducción. El tratamiento con inmunoglobinas (IVIg) administradas en las 2 primeras semanas del inicio de la clínica se ha demostrado eficaz para acortar el tiempo de recuperación de pacientes Guillain-Barré (GBS). El objetivo del trabajo consiste en averiguar si la administración precoz de IVIg en los primeros días del inicio de los síntomas influye de forma significativa en el acortamiento de la estancia media hospitalaria. Métodos. Se revisaron retrospectivamente 69 pacientes con GBS. El Grupo A (9 pacientes) no recibió tratamiento con IVIg, el grupo B (31 pacientes) recibió el tratamiento a partir del sexto día y el grupo C (29 pacientes) recibió el tratamiento en los 5 primeros días. Resultados. La estancia media para el Grupo A fue de 47,4 días; Grupo B, 32,4 días, y Grupo C, 21, 3 días (p < 0,001). En conclusión, la administración de IVIg en los primeros 5 días desde el inicio de los síntomas de un GBS acorta la estancia media hospitalaria en 11 días. Dado el carácter retrospectivo de nuestro trabajo, sería necesario realizar un estudio prospectivo, aleatorizado y multicéntrico para confirmar estos resultados (AU)
Introduction: Treatment with intravenous immunoglobin (IVIg) in the first two weeks of hospitalization has proven efficiency for shortening recovery time of patients with Guillain- Barré syndrome (GBS). The goal of the study is to determine if early treatment with IVIg in the first days after onset of symptoms has a significant effect on shortening average length of hospital stay. Methods: We examined retrospectively the records of 69 patients with GBS. Group A (9 patients) received no treatment with IVIg, Group B (31 patients) received treatment on the sixth day or thereafter and Group C (29 patients) received treatment in the first five days from symptoms onset. Results: Mean duration of hospitalisation time for Group A was 47.4 days, for Group B it was 32.4 days and for Group C, 21.3 days (p < 0.001). In summary, treatment with IVIg in the first five days after the onset of GBS symptoms reduces the length of hospitalisation by 11 days. Given the retrospective nature of our study, these findings should be confirmed in a prospective, randomised, multicentric study (AU)
Subject(s)
Female , Male , Middle Aged , Humans , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/diagnosis , Guillain-Barre Syndrome/drug therapy , Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/therapeutic use , Length of Stay , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Caloric restriction causes a generalized decrease in growth rate and has been repeatedly associated with an inhibitory effect on cancer development in several systems. In contrast, exposure to complete fasting followed by refeeding is a metabolic condition associated with increased cell turnover in different organs, including the liver. The present study examines whether such condition is able to sustain the induction of initiated hepatocytes following a subnecrogenic dose of diethylnitrosamine (DENA). Male Fisher-344 rats were fasted for 4 days and 1 day after refeeding they were given a single dose of DENA (20 or 200 mg/kg body wt, i.p.). Negative and positive control groups were fed ad libitum and injected with 20 and 200 mg/kg of DENA, respectively. One week later all animals were subjected to the resistant hepatocyte model for the selection of hepatocyte nodules and they were killed 2 weeks thereafter. Results indicated the presence of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) positive foci and nodules (38 +/- 7/cm2) in rats regularly fed and given 200 mg/kg of DENA, while virtually no focal lesions (< 1/cm2) were found in the group receiving 20 mg/kg of DENA and fed throughout the experiment. However, a significant number of GGT positive foci/nodules (14 +/- 7) also developed in rats exposed to fasting and given 20 mg/kg of DENA 24 h after refeeding. No evidence of hepatocellular necrosis was found in the latter group following DENA administration. No effect of fasting was observed when rats received 200 mg/kg of DENA. It is concluded that fasting/refeeding provides conditions which are able to sustain initiation in rat liver by a subnecrogenic dose of a carcinogen. These findings are in contrast with the commonly reported inhibitory effect of chronic food restriction on various stages of carcinogenesis, including initiation.
