Poor oral hygiene enhances gingival overgrowth caused by calcineurin inhibitors.

AIM: To estimate the prevalence of gingival overgrowth in kidney allograft recipients in southern Switzerland and to determine the factors associated with it. We hypothesized that poor oral hygiene was a risk factor. METHODS: We assessed the level of oral hygiene among renal transplant patients and determined whether a good level of information and regular dental checkups in addition to good oral hygiene could prevent gingival hyperplasia. Seventy-six adults who had undergone kidney transplantation were examined. The level of oral hygiene, gender, age, time elapsed from transplantation, medication and dose were recorded. RESULTS: In general the level of oral hygiene was average. We found a significant association between the severity of gingival overgrowth and the level of oral hygiene. No statistical relationship between gingival hyperplasia and the other recorded variables was detected. Patients on tacrolimus had a tendency to have less gingival hyperplasia. Patient education, along with regular dental checkups and a good level of oral hygiene, should prevent gingival hyperplasia or maintain it at an acceptable level. CONCLUSION: Intensive motivation of patients to maintain good oral hygiene is necessary to reduce the incidence of gingival hyperplasia.

Vancomycin-induced hypersensitivity reaction with acute renal failure: resolution following cyclosporine treatment.

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms or DRESS syndrome is a distinct severe drug-induced hypersensitivity reaction characterized by skin rash, fever, eosinophilia and visceral involvement. The latter leads to a 10% mortality rate, with interstitial nephritis occurring in about 10% of the cases. The outcome is usually favorable after withdrawal of drug therapy; systemic corticosteroid therapy may hasten the recovery, although there are no data from prospective, randomized trials evaluating the efficacy of this approach. Administration of other immunosuppressive agents (cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine) has also been suggested. We report on a patient with vancomycin-induced DRESS syndrome with acute interstitial nephritis and hepatitis. There was no improvement after withdrawal of the offending agent and empiric corticosteroid use. After tapering the steroids, a five-day course of cyclosporine was followed by quick resolution of the skin rash and recovery of renal function. Cyclosporine could represent a treatment option in cases of severe visceral involvement such as persistent renal insufficiency that do not improve after discontinuation of the offending agent and administration of high doses of steroids.

Increased frequency of CFTR gene mutations in sarcoidosis: a case/control association study.

A complete screening of the CFTR gene by DGGE and DNA sequencing was performed in patients with sarcoidosis. In 8/26 cases, missense and splicing CFTR gene mutations were found, a significant difference over controls (9/89) from the same population (P = 0.014). The odds ratio for a person with a CFTR gene mutation to develop the disease is 3.95 (1.18 < OR < 13.26). Seven different CFTR gene mutations were observed: R75Q, R347P, 621 + 3 A/G, 1898 + 3 A/G, L997F, G1069R, and a novel mutation which was detected in this study, I991V. R75Q mutation was present in 3/26 patients, a significant increase (P = 0. 01) in cases over controls, indicating its preferential association with sarcoidosis. A trend towards disease progression was observed in patients with CFTR gene mutations compared to patients without mutations. These data suggest that CFTR gene mutations predispose to the development of sarcoidosis.