We have treated 6 chronic alcoholics and identified an additional 19 reported in the literature who developed severe hepatotoxicity from acetaminophen taken in apparently moderate doses. The clinical disease in these 25 patients had a characteristic pattern: mild to moderate jaundice; mild to severe coagulopathy; and strikingly abnormal aminotransferase levels, values inconsistent with either acute alcoholic hepatitis or viral hepatitis. The possible causes for the injury from ostensibly nontoxic drug levels appear to be either the induction by chronic alcohol intake of the cytochrome P-450 system responsible for converting acetaminophen to a toxic metabolite, or the effect of alcoholism and the associated malnutrition in reducing the glutathione concentration, responsible normally for preventing hepatotoxicity by conjugation with the toxic metabolite. The research data pertaining to the apparent enhanced toxicity from chronic alcoholism are reviewed. Despite the low frequency of ethanol-potentiated acetaminophen hepatotoxicity, alcoholics should be cautioned about the use of acetaminophen while they persist in heavy consumption of alcohol.

No abstract

In our study of adults with CFS, fludrocortisone as monotherapy for NMH was no more efficacious than placebo for amelioration of symptoms. Failure to identify symptomatic improvement with fludrocortisone does not disprove the hypothesis that NMH could be contributing to some of the symptoms of CFS. Further studies are needed to determine whether other medications or combination therapy are more effective in treating orthostatic intolerance in patients with CFS.

No abstract

This study ascertained the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms among electricians, in order to evaluate the prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) in this population. We adapted the CTD surveillance questionnaire used by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to assess the prevalence of neck, shoulder, elbow, hand/wrist, back, and knee symptoms in the year prior to the survey. Questionnaires were completed by 308 apprentices and journeymen enrolled in training classes at the local union hall. The participants were relatively young individuals, and 86% of the participants were currently working as electricians. Participants reported a high prevalence of symptoms which occurred more than three times during the past year or which lasted more than 1 week. Back symptoms and hand/wrist symptoms were experienced most frequently, by about half the population, while elbow symptoms were reported by only 15% of participants. Symptom prevalence was lower, but still notable, when defined as symptoms which had occurred at least once a month or lasted more than a week in the past year. Eighty-two percent of participants reported at least one musculoskeletal symptom using the most inclusive definition, while 57% reported two or more symptoms. This survey highlights that: 1) low back discomfort is common in young construction workers, and resulted in medical care, missed work, or light duty for almost 35% of the participants; 2) neck discomfort is also very common and required doctor visits or work modification for almost one quarter of the participants; 3) these construction workers continued to work with symptoms that are classifiable as a CTD; and 4) history of injury is correlated with the subsequent prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms.