Drug allergies in the surgical population

Many patients claim to have drug allergies. However, the signs and symptoms of "allergic reactions" are seldom documented and the drug allergies are rarely properly assessed. The goal of this study was to determine the incidence of claimed "drug allergies" in a surgical population. After obtaining institutional approval, the study was carried out at five hospitals affiliated with Dalhousie University. Patients were interviewed by the investigators during the preoperative anaesthetic evaluation over six months and all signs and symptoms of drug reactions were recorded. The validity of the claimed allergy was based on the history. The allergies were assigned to one of three groups: (1) High probability of an allergic reaction: one or more of the signs and symptoms typical of an immunological reaction, with or without a family history, or a history of atopy; (ii) Low probability of an allergic reaction: signs and symptoms of the reaction were predictable reactions or side effects of the drug, without the occurrence of reactions mentioned above; or (iii) Unknown status: no information concerning the reaction of history was available. Of 1818 adult and paediatric patients (914 female/904 male) interviewed, 511 (28.1%) claimed to have one or more drug allergies (a total of 671 allergies). More women than men claimed to have drug allergies (60.3% vs 39.7%) and there was a positive correlation between age, number of medications and reported drug allergies. Antibiotics (50%), opioids (27%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (10%), and sedatives (5%) accounted for 92% of all claimed drug allergies. Overall, 50% of claimed allergies had a high probability of true allergic reactions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Allergy and infection

The majority of infectious asthma in children is of viral etiology. The respiratory syncytial and parainfluenza viruses are the etiologic agents in most young children, whereas rhinovirus primarily initiates asthmatic episodes in older children. Short-term or alternate day maintenance corticosteroid therapy probably does not significantly increase the asthmatic child's susceptibility to infection.     

Red card for allergies. Interview by Charlotte Alderman

The aim of this investigation was to examine glutathione metabolism (concentration of reduced glutathione, the activity of glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase) in the tissues of the brain hemispheres in different periods after complicated trauma (V. Kulagin's model). The obtained results show that the trauma causes compression of the soft tissues and therefore induces noticeable changes in glutathione metabolism in the tissues of the brain hemispheres: diminution of the reduced glutathione content early after trauma and its increase in the late period; high activity of glutathione reductase and gamma-glutamyl n-transferase; activation of glutathione-S-transferase after the trauma when peroxidation was the most active.