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Traditional Drugs (traditional + drug)
Selected AbstractsPatients' perceptions of drug dispensing in a rheumatological in-patient unitMUSCULOSKELETAL CARE, Issue 4 2005Barbro Arvidsson RNT Abstract Introduction: The dispensing of drugs in medical care systems is, in most countries, strictly regulated, and nurses are responsible for distributing drugs to in-patients. Aim: To describe the perceptions of patients with rheumatic diseases regarding traditional drug dispensing during in-patient care and rehabilitation in a specialized rheumatological care unit. Method: Twenty in-patients who stayed in the Spenshult Hospital unit for 3,4 weeks and who were on continuous medication were chosen for the study. The phenomenographic approach was used for the collection and analysis of data. Findings: Three descriptive categories emerged , Relief, Active Participation and Dependence. These descriptive categories comprised: three perceptions for Relief (to experience security, to be ,served', to dare to bother), two for Active Participation (to rely on one's own ability, to search for knowledge) and two for Dependence (lack of independence, lack of information). Conclusion: The patients experienced relief due to the nurse assuming responsibility for the medication and its dispensation. Patients expressed a wish to be more active in the management of their medication, as they trusted their own ability. The patients articulated that they were dependent on the nurse to give them the correct medication and they also asked for more information about their medication. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Validity of computerized diagnoses, procedures, and drugs for inflammatory bowel disease in a northern California managed care organization,,PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 11 2009Liyan Liu MD Abstract Purpose Resources for studying inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are needed in evaluations of drug safety including traditional drugs and new biologics agents. We developed an IBD registry, with ascertainment from computerized visit information. Objective We sought to characterize the positive predictive value (PPV) of IBD case-finding using computerized data compared with chart review. Methods We identified 2906 persons aged 89 years or younger with one or more IBD diagnoses in computerized visit data during the period of 1996,2002. The diagnosis of IBD was confirmed through chart review. Adopting chart review as the gold standard, the validity of computerized encounter data to determine IBD was estimated. Results Among the 2906 study subjects with one or more ICD-9 diagnosis codes of 555 or 556 in computerized data, 81% were confirmed as having IBD by chart review. Defining cases as those who underwent two or more visits without regard to diagnostic procedures or drug utilization maximized the correct classification of cases (PPV, 95%). Conclusions The quality of IBD diagnoses in computerized data is adequate to meet the aims of a wide range of research studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An analysis of variability in the manufacturing of dexosomes: Implications for development of an autologous therapy,BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 2 2005Sanjay Patel Abstract Dexosomes are nanometer-size vesicles released by dendritic-cells, possessing much of the cellular machinery required to stimulate an immune response (i.e. MHC Class I and II). The ability of patient-derived dexosomes loaded with tumor antigens to elicit anti-tumor activity is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Unlike conventional biologics, where variability between lots of product arises mostly from the manufacturing process, an autologous product has inherent variability in the starting material due to heterogeneity in the human population. In an effort to assess the variability arising from the dexosome manufacturing process versus the human starting material, 144 dexosome preparations from normal donors (111) and cancer patients (33) from two Phase I clinical trials were analyzed. A large variability in the quantity of dexosomes (measured as the number of MHC Class II molecules) produced between individual lots was observed (,>,50-fold). An analysis of intra-lot variability shows that the manufacturing process introduces relatively little of this variability. To identify the source(s) of variability arising from the human starting material, distributions of the key parameters involved in dexosome production were established, and a model created. Computer simulations using this model were performed, and compared to the actual data observed. The main conclusion from these simulations is that the number of cells collected per individual and the productivity of these cells of are the principal sources of variability in the production of Class II. The approach described here can be extended to other autologous therapies in general to evaluate control of manufacturing processes. Moreover, this analysis of process variability is directly applicable to production at a commercial scale, since the large scale manufacture of autologous products entails an exact process replication rather than scale-up in volume, as is the case with traditional drugs or biologics. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Intravenous Levetiracetam as first-line treatment of status epilepticus in the elderlyACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2010J. Fattouch Fattouch J, Di Bonaventura C, Casciato S, Bonini F, Petrucci S, Lapenta L, Manfredi M, Prencipe M, Giallonardo AT. Intravenous Levtiracetam as first-line treatment of status epilepticus in the elderly. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 121: 418,421. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Background,,, Status epilepticus is a condition of prolonged/repetitive seizures that often occurs in the elderly. Treatment in the elderly can be complicated by serious side effects associated with traditional drugs. Objective,,, The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy/safety of intravenously administered LEV (IVLEV) as the treatment of choice for SE in the elderly. Methods,,, We enrolled nine elderly patients (five female/four male; median age 78 years) with SE. Two patients had a previous diagnosis of epilepsy; in the remaining seven, SE was symptomatic. SE was convulsive in five and non-convulsive in four. All the patients presented concomitant medical conditions (arrhythmias/respiratory distress/hepatic diseases). As the traditional therapy for SE was considered unsafe, IVLEV was used as first-line therapy (loading dose of 1500 mg/100 ml/15 min, mean maintenance daily dose of 2500 mg/24 h) administered during video-EEG monitoring. Results/conclusions,,, In all the patients but one, IVLEV was effective in the treatment of SE and determined either the disappearance of (7/8), or significant reduction in (1/8), epileptic activity; no patient relapsed in the subsequent 24 h. No adverse events or changes in the ECG/laboratory parameters were observed. These data suggest that IVLEV may be an effective/safe treatment for SE in the elderly. [source] | ||||||||||