Book Review: Drug-Induced Diseases: Prevention, Detection, and Management

Abstract

The authorsof Drug-Induced Diseases: Prevention, Detection, andManagement discuss the unintended and oftenunexpectedeffects of drugsas causative agentsof disease. Audience: Intended for a variety of healthcare practitioners, including clinicalpharmacists, specialtypractitioners, students,internists,general practitioners, and nurses. Purpose: To providea comprehensive sourceof information regarding the identification, detection, prevention, and management of drug-induceddiseases forcurrentand futurehealthcare practitioners. This text is a concisereference that is designed to serveas a constructive supplement in required or specialized courseson drug-induced diseases. Content: This textbookis organized in 12 sections,whichare further dividedinto a totalof 53 chapters. The first section(3 chapters)is dedicated to epidemiology and the impactof drug-induced disease on public health,contributing factors, and postmarketing surveillanceof drug-induced diseases.The remaining 11 sectionsare divided accordingto organ systems (ie,drug-induced allergic/immunologic diseases; neurologic diseases; psychiatric diseases; respiratory diseases;cardiovasculardiseases; endocrinediseases;gastrointestinal diseases;diseasesof the kidney and fluids/electrolyte disorders; hematologic diseases; drug-induced bone, joint, and muscle diseases; and miscellaneous), with individual chapters dedicated to specificdrug-induceddiseases of that organ system. Chaptersare structured consistently and includesubheadings such as causative agents,epidemiology, mechanisms, clinicalpresentation and differential diagnosis, risk factors, morbidity and mortality, and management. Each chapter also includes useful summary tables that providea quick referencefor such topics as drugs implicatedin specificdiseases, signsand symptoms/clinical presentation, and treatment options. The data are current and includerelativelyrecent (2004)drug withdrawals from the market.The text is indexedand also includes a useful 76-page appendix, which provides a quick reference of drugs/agents (listed alphabetically) with a list of corresponding disease states for which that drug has been implicated, along with corresponding chapter numbers. Colorphotosand figures are included whereappropriate. Usability: Chapters are individually referenced, and references are up-to-date (up to 2004).The text is competitively priced. Highlights: Chaptersubheadings and layoutare consistent, whichalleviates interchapter inconsistencies due to varying authorwriting styles. The appendix described above provides a system for cross-reference

High Risk of QT Interval Prolongation and Torsades de Pointes Associated with Intravenous Quinidine Used for Treatment of Resistant Malaria or Babesiosis

“…All patients who developed QTc interval prolongation or TdP in this case series had multiple risk factors for TdP (24), including electrolyte imbalances and comorbid conditions, including heart failure. In addition, two patients had hepatic dysfunction, which may inhibit the metabolism and reduce the clearance of quinidine (20).…”

“…Patients who did not develop QT interval prolongation also had multiple risk factors but in some cases were not administered aggressive loading doses. One patient (case 3) had a prequinidine QTc interval of 602 ms, which markedly increased her risk for quinidine-induced TdP (24). CDC guidelines recommend that quinidine gluconate infusions be slowed or discontinued if the QTc interval becomes prolonged to Ͼ600 ms.…”

“…Quinidine-associated syncope was described nearly 100 years ago (15) and is due to QT interval prolongation and the life-threatening arrhythmia torsades de pointes (TdP) (2), which occurs in up to 8% of quinidinetreated patients (22). TdP is a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia associated with QT interval prolongation and appears on the electrocardiogram (ECG) as continuous "twisting of the pointes" of the QRS complex around the isoelectric baseline (24). TdP can degenerate into ventricular fibrillation, leading to sudden cardiac death.…”

Drug-induced neuropathies

“…Częstość ich występowania waha się od 10 do 100% [1,2]. Obraz kliniczny i elektrofizjologiczny zmian neuropatycznych, ich rodzaj i nasilenie objawów zależą zazwyczaj od dawki leku, czasu trwania terapii, chorób współistnieją-cych oraz indywidualnych różnic w metabolizmie [1,2].…”

“…Częstość ich występowania waha się od 10 do 100% [1,2]. Obraz kliniczny i elektrofizjologiczny zmian neuropatycznych, ich rodzaj i nasilenie objawów zależą zazwyczaj od dawki leku, czasu trwania terapii, chorób współistnieją-cych oraz indywidualnych różnic w metabolizmie [1,2].Działania neurotoksyczne leków stanowią jedną z najczęstszych przyczyn zmniejszania dawki terapeutycznej danego leku bądź całkowitego przerwania dotychczasowej terapii, osłabiając jej skuteczność, negatywnie wpływając na stan zdrowia pacjentów i generując dodatkowe koszty opieki zdrowotnej.Wśród leków o nasilonym działaniu neurotoksycznym szczególne miejsce zajmują chemioterapeutyki oraz leki kardiologiczne. W niniejszej pracy skupimy się na kilku wybranych lekach z obu kategorii oraz opiszemy skutki ich negatywnego oddziaływania na układ nerwowy, co znacznie wpływa na stan zdrowia pacjentów.…”