[Solutions for organ preservation and other cardioplegic liquid formulations. Role of the hospital pharmacist]. / Solutions pour conservation d'organes et pour cardioplégie. Le rôle du pharmacien hospitalier.

Solid organ transplantation is an increasing need and a well-established activity which requires maintaining the quality of the transplant from procurement through the entire, storage, transport and graft procedure. Solutions for organ preservation play a key role in this procedure, by minimizing the deleterious effects of both ischemia and reperfusion. As such, their qualitative and quantitative compositions have to be optimized and validated. The development strategy and formulations proposed for these solutions are analyzed in this review as well as the results of the clinical studies which have set up the relevant pharmacological and physicochemical criteria. The French regulatory status of these products is also discussed. A clear distinction has to be made between solutions for organ preservation which are classified as produits thérapeutiques annexes (therapeutic ancillary products) and cardioplegic liquid formulations which are considered as medicinal products and are subject to marketing approval. Finally, the roles of the hospital pharmacist in the evaluation, selection, purchase and proper use of these products are described.

Severe axonal polyneuropathy after a FK506 overdosage in a lung transplant recipient.

FK506-induced polyneuropathies are rarely encountered. We report a case of axonal sensorimotor polyneuropathy in a lung transplant recipient that occurred during a FK506 overdosage. Onset was acute in the form of severe areflexic tetraparesis and resolution was observed after reduction of dosage. Because of increasing use of FK506 in solid organ transplantation, caution should be paid with FK506 dosage monitoring in cases of peripheral nervous system symptoms.

[Varicella complications: study of 117 patients admitted to the Emílio Ribas Hospital]. / Complicações da varicela: estudo de 117 casos internados no Hospital Emílio Ribas.

Chickenpox, an exanthemic disease common in childhood, has a benign course in most of the cases. However, several complications may occur; among them we have: bacterial infection of the skin, pneumonia, meningoencephalitis, thrombocytopenia, renal failure and others. The present study aims to analyse the occurrence of these complications, and for this purpose, a retrospective survey of the cases admitted to the Hospital Emílio Ribas during the period of December 1986 through December 1987 was performed. During this period, 117 patients were admitted, 91 of them aged 15 years or less. Associated complications were detected in 103 patients. The most frequent ones were pneumonia (31.87%) and bacterial infection of the skin (28.75%). Among children, the most frequent complication was skin bacterial infection (44 cases); whereas among adults, pulmonary complications were the most frequent. Among neurologic complications, there was a case of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a very rarely occurrence in the literature. The lethality was high, and the pulmonary complications with septicemia were responsible the most part of them.