Ototoxicity: The Hidden Menace.

Ototoxicity: the hidden menace.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Jul; 63(3): 255-9
Bisht M, Bist SS

Otolaryngology, although considered a surgical specialty, also covers many diseases that are not cured by surgery. These are treated medically and thus the otolaryngologist should have a good knowledge of drug treatments. It also entails ability to recognize, when an ENT symptom may be caused by one of the patient’s medications, particularly as this is easily remedied by changing the drug. Although most of us know the common drugs that can cause otological side effects, there are many others that we may not be aware of. Here we have tried to consolidate a list of some commonly used drugs having otological side effects.
HubMed – drug

 

Effect of Palliative Drug Therapy on Quality of life in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Jul; 63(3): 220-2
Bisht M, Bist SS, Dhasmana DC, Saini S

Advanced cancer patients are managed by palliative care and its main aim is to provide best possible quality of life to the patients by symptom management. Pain is the most agonizing symptom experienced by advanced head and neck cancer patients. Control of pain hence requires more attention by the caregiver in order to improve their quality of life. Recently quality of life issues have emerged as a main focus of cancer treatment as compared to conventional increase in survival rate. This study mainly focuses on the effect of palliative drug therapy on quality of life.
HubMed – drug

 

Integron associated mobile genes: Just a collection of plug in apps or essential components of cell network hardware?

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Mob Genet Elements. 2012 Jan 1; 2(1): 13-18
Labbate M, Boucher Y, Luu I, Chowdhury PR, Stokes HW

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) impacts on the evolution of prokaryotes in both the short and long-term. The short-term impacts of mobilized genes are a concern to humans since LGT explains the global rise of multi drug resistant pathogens seen in the past 70 years. However, LGT has been a feature of prokaryotes from the earliest days of their existence and the concept of a bifurcating tree of life is not entirely applicable to prokaryotes since most genes in extant prokaryotic genomes have probably been acquired from other lineages. Successful transfer and maintenance of a gene in a new host is understandable if it acts independently of cell networks and confers an advantage. Antibiotic resistance provides an example of this whereby a gene can be advantageous in virtually any cell across broad species backgrounds. In a longer evolutionary context however laterally transferred genes can be assimilated into even essential cell networks. How this happens is not well understood and we discuss recent work that identifies a mobile gene, unique to a cell lineage, which is detrimental to the cell when lost. We also present some additional data and believe our emerging model will be helpful in understanding how mobile genes integrate into cell networks.
HubMed – drug

 

Implementation of cerebral microdialysis at a community-based hospital: A 5-year retrospective analysis.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Surg Neurol Int. 2012; 3: 57
Chen JW, Rogers SL, Gombart ZJ, Adler DE, Cecil S

BACKGROUND: Cerebral microdialysis (MD) provides valuable information about brain metabolism under normal and pathologic conditions. The CMA 600 microdialysis analyzer received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for clinical use in the United States in 2005. Since then, cerebral MD has been increasingly utilized nationally in the multimodal monitoring of traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and brain tumors. We describe a 5-year, single-institutional experience using cerebral MD at a community-based hospital, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center (LEMC). Implications for the adoption and utility of MD in medical centers with limited resources are discussed. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review and data analysis of 174 consecutive patients who had cerebral MD as part of multimodal brain monitoring. All cerebral MD catheters were placed by board-certified, attending neurosurgeons at LEMC. Clinical severity in the TBI patients was reported using initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS); radiologic severity was graded with the Marshall CT grading scale. Measures of the risks of MD placement included post-placement hemorrhage, cerebral infection, and dislodgement. RESULTS: Between July 2005 and July 2010, 248 cerebral MD catheters were placed in 174 patients undergoing multimodal brain monitoring. One hundred and eighty-five catheters were placed at the time of open craniotomy. None were associated with cranial infection. Patients ranged in age from 5 months to 90 years, with a mean of 49 years. The male to female ratio was 1.4:1. The underlying pathologies were: TBI (126), cerebral vascular accident (24), aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (17), and tumor (7). CONCLUSIONS: Cerebral MD was readily implemented in a community-based hospital. No cerebral hemorrhages or infections were attributed to cerebral MD. Examples of how MD may be a useful adjunct in the clinical decision making of patients with brain injuries are presented.
HubMed – drug

 

Former addicts now helping others

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Getting used to her first fulltime job along with studying for a diploma in alcohol and drug treatment studies had taken a lot of getting used to but her new role was a dream come true and she couldn't wait to get started. "It's exciting. When I first …
Read more on Marlborough Express

 

Grants win for drug, alcohol rehab service Odyssey House at Eagle Vale

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

EAGLE Vale drug and alcohol rehabilitation service Odyssey House has secured four federal government grants.
Read more on Macarthur Chronicle Campbelltown

 

Drug court

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

The drug court program, called Judicially Supervised Treatment (JuST), would provide supervision, counseling and case management to individuals who have a demonstrated addiction to drugs or alcohol. "You take away the drugs, and they're very good …
Read more on Marietta Times

 

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