Randomised, double blind placebo controlled trial of pentoxifylline in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pentoxifylline 400 mg (Trental 400) taken orally three times daily, in addition to ambulatory compression bandages and dressings, improves the healing rate of pure venous ulcers. DESIGN: Randomised, double blind placebo controlled trial, parallel group study of factorial design, permitting the simultaneous evaluation of alternative pharmaceutical, bandaging, and dressings materials. SETTING: Leg ulcer clinics of a teaching and a district general hospital in southern Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: 200 patients with confirmed venous ulcers and in whom other major causal factors were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: Pentoxifylline 400 mg three times daily or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Complete healing (full epithelialisation) of all ulcers on the trial leg. RESULTS: Complete healing occurred in 65 of the 101 (64%) patients receiving pentoxifylline and 52 of the 99 (53%) patients receiving placebo. CONCLUSIONS: The difference in the healing rates between patients taking pentoxifylline and those taking placebo did not reach statistical significance. (+info)
Drug-induced alterations in tumour perfusion yield increases in tumour cell radiosensitivity.
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The perfusion of human tumour xenografts was manipulated by administration of diltiazem and pentoxifylline, and the extent that observed changes in tumour perfusion altered tumour radiosensitivity was determined. 2 tumour systems having intrinsically different types of hypoxia were studied. The responses of SiHa tumours, which have essentially no transient hypoxia, were compared to the responses of WiDr tumours, which contain chronically and transiently hypoxic cells. We found that relatively modest increases in net tumour perfusion increased tumour cell radiosensitivity in WiDr tumours to a greater extent than in SiHa tumours. Moreover, redistribution of blood flow within WiDr tumours was observed on a micro-regional level that was largely independent of changes in net tumour perfusion. Through fluorescence-activated cell sorting coupled with an in vivo-in vitro cloning assay, increases in the radiosensitivity of WiDr tumour cells at intermediate levels of oxygenation were observed, consistent with the expectation that a redistribution of tumour blood flow had increased oxygen delivery to transiently hypoxic tumour cells. Our data therefore suggest that drug-induced changes in tumour micro-perfusion can alter the radiosensitivity of transiently hypoxic tumour cells, and that increasing the radiosensitivity of tumour cells at intermediate levels of oxygenation is therapeutically relevant. (+info)
The underutilization of cardiac medications of proven benefit, 1990 to 2002.
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OBJECTIVES: To evaluate recent trends, we examined longitudinal national data on the outpatient use of warfarin in atrial fibrillation (AF), beta-blockers and aspirin in coronary artery disease (CAD), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) in congestive heart failure (CHF). BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicate that specific cardiac medications are underutilized. METHODS: We used the National Disease and Therapeutic Index (NDTI) (produced by IMS HEALTH, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania) for 1990 to 2002, and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS) for 1990 to 2000 to follow nationally representative samples of outpatient visits. For visits by patients with AF (total n = 14,634 visits), CAD (n = 35,295), and CHF (n = 33,008), we examined trends in the proportion of visits with the selected medications reported. RESULTS: Warfarin use in AF increased from 12% in 1990, to 41% in 1995, to 58% in 2001 in NDTI; a similar moderation of recent increase was seen in NAMCS. For CAD in NDTI, beta-blocker use increased slowly from 19% in 1990, to 20% in 1995, then to 40% in 2001; NAMCS showed this same pattern. Aspirin use in CAD in NDTI increased from 18% in 1990, to 19% in 1995, to 38% in 2001; NAMCS, however, showed lower use rates. For NDTI, ACEI use in CHF increased from 24% in 1990 to 36% in 1996, but increased to only 39% by 2001, a general pattern also seen in NAMCS. CONCLUSIONS: Both national datasets demonstrate continuing underutilization of these cardiac medications of proven benefit. Although use is increasing, it remains lower than expected, and some increases noted in earlier years have slowed. Substantial public health benefits would result from further adoption of these effective therapies. (+info)
Treatment of homozygous sickle cell disease with pentoxifylline.
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This case report describes the sustained symptomatic and hematologic improvement in a 21-year-old woman with homozygous sickle cell (ss) disease during treatment with pentoxifylline, 400 mg three times daily after meals. Pain crises decreased from six to zero per year, hemoglobin level rose from 8.4 g/dL to 11.4 g/dL, hematocrit rose from 24.8% to 34.8%, lactate dehydrogenase level decreased from 375 IU/L to 322 IU/L, and total bilirubin level decreased from 1.8 mg/dL to 1.6 mg/dL. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin increased from 21.6 pg to 30 pg and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration increased from 24.1 g/dL to 34.5 g/dL. These changes were sustained for seven years except for a brief self-imposed hiatus in therapy during which period a pain crisis occurred. Further increase in pentoxifylline dosage to 400 mg four times daily did not result in any further improvement in these hematologic parameters. These results suggest that pentoxifylline reduces hemolysis in SS patients with a resulting improvement in anemia and a reduction in or elimination of pain crises. (+info)
Treatment of the leg ulcers by skin grafting.
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The ulcers, located below the knees and remaining for 6 weeks and more, are called trophic leg ulcers. The leg ulcers of different etiology disable 0.8-1% of total Earth population. It was found that blood vessel problems in legs account for more than 80% of ulcers; even 65% from these are caused by venous diseases. In Lithuania about 8000 patients suffer from venous trophic ulcers. Regardless of modern methods the treatment of leg ulcers remains an extremely expensive process. The treatment cost of trophic ulcers is the highest of all surgical wounds and also requires a lot of personal investments. In order to assess the efficiency of autodermoplastics in the treatment of large venous ulcers in legs a prospective study was carried out of 111 patients who were treated in the Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns of Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital from January 2001 to January 2004. The data was analyzed exceptionally of the operated 54 patients with venous origin ulcers open for more 6 months or exceeding 50 cm2. The above-mentioned patients were prepared for surgery by dressing the wounds with hydrocolloid Granuflex bandages and were operated by transplanting a 0.2-0.3 mm thick skin graft. The results were estimated by the surgeon during the dressings after the operation. The graft was taken in 35 (64.81%) cases; in 19 (35.19%) cases the graft was partially not taken and there were no cases when it was not taken at all. We came to the conclusions that skin graft transplantation is efficient in treatment of trophic venous leg ulcers larger than 50 cm2 and cures the trophic leg ulcers of vein origin completely in 2-3 weeks for 64.81% patients. (+info)
Contraindications and safety of transbronchial lung biopsy via flexible bronchoscopy. A survey of pulmonologists and review of the literature.
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BACKGROUND: Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) via flexible bronchoscopy is a common procedure performed by pulmonologists. Limited scientific data exist concerning the risk of this procedure in patients with conditions that may adversely affect the rate of procedural complications. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the current practice pattern and attitude of pulmonologists toward the performance of TBLB in the presence of high-risk conditions. METHODS: A survey was constructed and distributed at the American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting, held in Philadelphia, USA, in November of 2001. RESULTS: A total of 227 surveys were distributed with a return of 158 (69.6%). Anticoagulation medications are temporarily held prior to TBLB by the majority of our survey respondents (98.7% for intravenous heparin, 90.5% for warfarin, and 87.3% for low-molecular-weight heparin). Medications with effect on platelet function are held by fewer pulmonologists. There is a wide variation in the pulmonologists' perception of the risk of performing TBLB when certain medical conditions coexist: pulmonary hypertension [absolute contraindication (AC), 28.7%; relative contraindication (RC) 58.6%], superior vena cava syndrome (AC 19.6%, RC 51%), mechanical ventilation (AC 17.8%, RC 58.6%) and lung cavity/abscess (AC 7%, RC 44.9%). A significant percentage of pulmonologists (55%) do not regard an elevated serum creatinine at any level as AC to TBLB. Thirty-eight percent of the survey participants administer desmopressin prior to TBLB in uremic patients to prevent excessive bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Prior to performing bronchoscopic TBLB, the majority of pulmonologists temporarily holds anticoagulation medications. However, there is a lack of agreement in relation to perceived contraindications and safety of TBLB. (+info)
Variability and growth in spending for outpatient specialty pharmaceuticals.
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Specialty pharmaceuticals are a unique group of drug agents used to treat complex clinical conditions. Many specialty pharmaceuticals are biological in nature and administered through injection or infusion. Tracking spending on these pharmaceuticals is complex, because these products may be processed as either medical or pharmacy claims. This benchmarking study of ten Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, representing almost eighteen million covered lives, documents large expenditures on select specialty pharmaceutical categories and much variation in spending across plans, age groups, and time. Our results underscore the need for insurers to scrutinize trends in specialty pharmaceutical spending and identify appropriate management strategies. (+info)
During the past three decades, percutaneous coronary intervention has become one of the cardinal treatment strategies for stenotic coronary artery disease. Technical advances, including the introduction of new devices such as stents, have expanded the interventional capabilities of balloon angioplasty. At the same time, there has been a decline in the rate of major adverse cardiac events, including Q-wave acute myocardial infarction, emergency coronary artery bypass grafting, and cardiac death. Despite these advances, the incidence of post-procedural cardiac marker elevation has not substantially decreased since the first serial assessment 20 years ago. As of now, these post-procedural cardiac marker elevations are considered to represent peri-procedural myocardial injury (PMI) with worse long-term outcome potential. Recent progress has been made for the identification of two main PMI patterns, one near the intervention site (proximal type, PMI type I) and one in the distal perfusion territory of the treated coronary artery (distal type, PMI type II) as well as for preventive strategies. Integrating these new developments into the wealth of clinical information on this topic, this review aims at giving a current perspective on the entity of PMI. (+info)