Single dose bioequivalence study of two brands of olanzapine 10 mg tablets in Iranian healthy volunteers.

This single dose, randomized, open label, 2-period and crossover study in healthy Iranian adult volunteers was conducted to compare the bioavailability of 2 branded formulations of olanzapine 10 mg tablets. 24 volunteers received one tablet of each olanzapine 10 mg formulation. Drugs were administered after a 12 h overnight fast in each of 2 treatment days which separated by a 2-week washout period. Serial blood samples were collected over a period of 72 h. Plasma was analyzed using a validated high performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet detection in the range of 2-24 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantitation of 1.25 ng/mL. A non-compartmental method was employed to determine the pharmacokinetic properties (Cmax, Tmax, AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and T1/2) to test to bioequivalence. Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were used to test the bioequivalence after log-transformation of plasma data. The mean (SD) Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ for the test formulation were 15.82 (3.15) ng/mL, 447.19 (100.64) ng.h/L and 570.75 (130.55) ng.h/L respectively. Corresponding values for the test formulation were 15.72 (4.25) ng/mL, 440.37 (98.75) ng.h/mL and 558.66 (129.57) ng.h/mL. For test formulation vs. the reference formulation, the 90% CIs of the least squares mean test/reference ratios of Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were 97.6-110.0%, 96.4-109.4% and 97.3-109.2%. In these volunteers, based on the FDA regulatory definition, results from the pharmacokinetic analysis suggested that the test and reference formulations of olanzapine 10 mg tablets were bioequivalent.

Acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Tabriz, Iran.

The aim of our study was to investigate the etiological and demographical characteristics of acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Tabriz, Iran. This retrospective study was performed on 1342 poisoning admissions to a university hospital from 2003 to 2005, by data collection from the medical records of patients. Poisonings were 5.40% of the total admissions. There was a predominance of female patients (55.7%) compared to male patients (44.3%) with a female-to-male ratio of 1.2:1. Most poisonings occurred in the age range of 11-20 years (38.9%). Drugs were the most common cause of poisonings (60.8%). Among the drug poisonings, benzodiazepines (40.31%) were the most frequent agents, followed by antidepressants (31.98%). The seasonal distribution in poisoning patients suggested a peak in spring (28%) and summer (27.5%). In 9.8% of cases accidental and in 90.2% intentional poisonings were evident. Most suicide attempts were made by women (58.51%) and unmarried people (51.4%).The mean duration of hospitalization was 3.02 +/- 2.8 days. There were 28 (2.3%) deaths; the majority (13 cases) was due to pesticides. This was a university hospital-based study, so these results may not be representative of the general population. Despite this drawback, these data still provide important information on the characteristics of the poisoning in this part of Iran. To prevent such poisonings, the community education about the danger of central nervous system-acting drugs and reducing the exposure period of people to pesticides are recommended.