Vigilance Needed in Treating a Child with Disseminated TB: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is still one of the biggest causes of infection-related death around the world. Disseminated tuberculosis is a potentially fatal disease caused by the haematogenous spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. First-line anti-tuberculosis drugs in-clude isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol. The first three drugs are known to cause hepatotoxicity. CASE PRESENTATION: We have, herein, reported a case of Drug-induced Liver Injury (DILI) due to anti-tuberculosis therapy in a one-year-old male child with disseminated tuberculosis. He was started on a fixed-dose combination of Anti-tuberculosis Therapy (ATT; isoniazid 50 mg, rifampicin 75 mg, and pyrazinamide 150 mg) and pyridoxine 10 mg orally. Initially, liver pa-rameters were normal, but later on with the course of the treatment, there was a rapid rise in liver enzymes, suggesting liver injury. DISCUSSION: The association between liver injury and anti-tuberculosis therapy has been con-firmed by applying various causality association scales. It is obvious that proper treatment of disseminated tuberculosis can avoid the development of drug-resistant strains that can be harm-ful, worsening the prognosis as there are fewer therapeutic alternatives available. At the same time, there is a need to monitor the patient with ATT-induced DILI. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of tuberculosis in children is difficult because of the mild, nonspe-cific clinical presentation, which usually reflects the implicated underlying organ. In addition to prompt diagnosis and treatment of disseminated TB, careful monitoring is equally important.

Hand Foot Syndrome Induced by Lenvatinib - A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Hand-Foot Syndrome (HFS), also known as palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, is a common reaction to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors ( TKIs), which can often lead to discontinuation of the drug. Lenvatinib is a recently approved drug for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma, which has been proven to provide a better overall survival rate and longer duration of progression-free survival among patients with advanced endometrial cancer. Herein, we have reported a case of carcinoma endometrium with metastasis who had to discontinue the use of lenvatinib due to the adverse drug reaction. CASE REPORT: A 60-year-old female patient with carcinoma endometrium with metastasis, post radical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with omentectomy, was started on tablet lenvatinib 8 mg once daily orally for 15 days. After 12 days of treatment, the patient noticed painful lesions with reddish-black discoloration over the left forearm and dorsal aspect of the left hand and fingers, and was diagnosed with lenvatinib-induced hand-foot syndrome. Lenvatinib was discontinued and tab. prednisolone 30mg was taken orally. The reaction subsided after five days. CONCLUSION: Hand-foot syndrome is one of the commonest ADRs due to the use of lenvatinib. Lenvatinib is an oral formulation that patients can take at their homes. Hence, educating patients regarding the HFS is important so that they report it to the treating physicians on time. It is also essential to educate patients regarding the precautions to be taken to avoid hand-foot syndrome. This will help the physicians with the early discontinuation and appropriate treatment with corticosteroids, which will help in improving the quality of life of the patients already suffering from cancer.

Can HCQ Be Considered a "Safe Weapon" for COVID-19 in the Indian Population?

With no drugs currently approved for treatment and cure of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), hydroxychloroquine is one of the many first-line drugs used in the management. However, given the life-threatening adverse effects of HCQ that have been reported, its use as a prophylactic treatment remains debated. HCQ has long been used in India for the treatment of malaria, auto-immune and inflammatory diseases, and even type 2 diabetes mellitus recently. We aimed to review existing literature and relevant Web sites regarding the safety profile of HCQ in the Indian subcontinent. A non-systematic critical analysis of all published literature/studies focused on the Indian population, recording on the use of HCQ for various indications up till April 2020 was done and frequency of occurrence of HCQ related life-threatening and cardiac side effects were noted. Results from PubMed database showed an incidence of 0.6% of cardiac-related side effects and 7.42% of other self-limiting and minor side effects among the Indian population on HCQ. Considering its minimal risk and favorable safety profile, cost-effectiveness, availability, and affordability in India, the use of hydroxychloroquine in the fight against COVID-19 appears rationale. Following the results of our study, we hypothesize that Indians might be less likely to suffer from cardiac-related side effects given their genetic make-up. However, this would need further studies, clinical trials, and a pharmacogenomic understanding of the subject.