Systemic candidiasis in intravenous drug abusers (IVDA) is a new syndrome caused by Candida albicans and characterized by the sequential development of skin, eye, and osteoarticular lesions, which together form a typical clinical picture. We studied 30 patients with suggestive skin lesions: papules, nodules, and pustules in hair-bearing areas, particularly the scalp and beard area, associated with hair invasion by candidal hyphae. Ocular and osteoarticular involvement and presence of candidemia in some of the patients suggested blood-borne colonization of C. albicans. The infection has been related to "brown" heroin. The origin of C. albicans and the reasons for its exclusive localization in the skin and these organs are discussed. The characteristic clinical picture is widely different from that of classic disseminated candidiasis in immunodeficient patients. Therapy is also discussed.
The main objective of the study is to determine the pharmacist detection of drug‐drug and drug‐food interactions in patients receiving oral antineoplastic drugs (OADs). Descriptive, prospective study in a tertiary‐care teaching hospital. The study population included patients who received OADs from the Outpatient Pharmacy of the hospital. The study population was attended by a pharmacist who checked potential interactions. The severity of interactions was evaluated using the summary of product characteristics of each drug and three different databases. We included 219 patients with a total of 736 concomitant medications. A total of 34 drug‐drug or food‐drug interactions were recorded. The most common interaction detected was between erlotinib and ranitidine (major interaction). In 19 of the 34 interactions detected in the experimental group, the pharmacist prevented them from reaching the patient. Interactions were resolved by drug suspensions, drug changes, or changes in schedules always according to the attending physician or the patient. In the remaining 15 interactions, the doctor was not contacted because the interactions were considered to be of little relevance or because they only required surveillance. Hospital pharmacist can improve the patient's safety and the efficiency of oral cytostatic treatment by detecting and preventing drug‐drug and drug‐food interactions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.