Adult Prescription Drug Use and Pediatric Medication Exposures and Poisonings.
Adult Prescription Drug Use and Pediatric Medication Exposures and Poisonings.
Pediatrics. 2013 Jun 3;
Burghardt LC, Ayers JW, Brownstein JS, Bronstein AC, Ewald MB, Bourgeois FT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Nontherapeutic medication ingestions continue to be a major pediatric health problem, with recent increases in ingestions despite a number of public health interventions. It is unknown how changes in adult prescription drug use relate to pediatric medication poisonings. The objective of the study was to measure the association between changing adult prescription drug patterns and pediatric medication exposures and poisonings and identify high-risk classes of medications and pediatric age groups.METHODS:We measured monthly pediatric exposures and poisonings using the National Poison Data System and prescriptions written for adults using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys for 2000 through 2009. Associations between adult prescriptions for oral hypoglycemics, antihyperlipidemics, ?-blockers, and opioids and exposures and poisonings among children 0 to 5, 6 to 12, and 13 to 19 years were analyzed by using multiple time-series analysis. Emergency department visits, serious injuries, and hospitalizations stemming from these associations were described.RESULTS:Adult medication prescriptions were statistically significantly associated with exposures and poisonings in children of all ages, with the strongest association observed for opioids. Across medications, the greatest risk was among children 0 to 5 years old, followed by 13- to 19-year-olds. Rates of emergency department visits were highest for events related to hypoglycemics (60.1%) and ?-blockers (59.7%), whereas serious injuries and hospitalizations occurred most frequently with opioids (26.8% and 35.2%, respectively) and hypoglycemics (19.5% and 49.4%, respectively).CONCLUSIONS:Increasing adult drug prescriptions are strongly associated with rising pediatric exposures and poisonings, particularly for opioids and among children 0 to 5 years old. These associations have sizable impacts, including high rates of serious injury and health care use. HubMed – drug
Randomized Open-Label Phase II Study of Decitabine in Patients With Low- or Intermediate-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes.
J Clin Oncol. 2013 Jun 3;
Garcia-Manero G, Jabbour E, Borthakur G, Faderl S, Estrov Z, Yang H, Maddipoti S, Godley LA, Gabrail N, Berdeja JG, Nadeem A, Kassalow L, Kantarjian H
PURPOSEThis open-label, randomized phase II trial assessed efficacy and tolerability of two low-dose regimens of subcutaneous (SC) decitabine in patients with low- or intermediate-1-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). PATIENTS AND METHODSPatients received decitabine 20 mg/m(2) SC per day for 3 consecutive days on days 1, 2, and 3 every 28 days (schedule A) or 20 mg/m(2) SC per day once every 7 days on days 1, 8, and 15 every 28 days (schedule B) for up to 1 year. Primary efficacy end point was overall improvement rate (OIR: complete remission [CR], partial remission [PR], marrow CR [mCR], or hematologic improvement [HI]). Secondary end points were HI, transfusion independence, cytogenetic response, overall survival (OS), and time to acute myeloid leukemia or death. RESULTS: schedule A, n = 43; schedule B, n = 22. Median time from MDS diagnosis to treatment was 3.6 months; 89% had de novo MDS. The trial was terminated early on achievement of protocol-defined OIR superiority of schedule A over schedule B; OIR was 23% for schedule A (seven CRs, three HIs) and 23% for schedule B (one mCR, one PR, three HIs). No differences were observed in secondary end points. Median OS was not reached; approximately 70% of patients were alive at 500 days. Patients in schedule A (67%) and schedule B (59%) were RBC/platelet independent on study. The most frequent drug-related adverse events overall were neutropenia (28% v 36%), anemia (23% v 18%), and thrombocytopenia (16% v 32%). CONCLUSIONIn this phase II study, low-dose decitabine showed promising results in patients with low- or intermediate-1-risk MDS. HubMed – drug