The supportive care needs of newly diagnosed cancer patients attending a regional cancer center

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine the physical and emotional health status, self-perceived problems, and needs of newly diagnosed cancer patients to determine and plan supportive care strategies. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of newly diagnosed cancer patients attending a regional cancer center during a 6-month period was performed. Patients with breast, colorectal, head and neck, lung, and prostate carcinoma as well as nonmelanoma of the skin were selected randomly. Patients were interviewed prior to their first appointment at the clinic. Physical health status was assessed using the Symptom Distress Scale, psychologic health status was assessed with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), day-to-day functioning with the Rapid Disability Scale, and social support with the modified Sarason's Social Support Scale. Perceived needs were assessed in a number of ways, including identification of patients' specific social concerns and informational needs, and by asking them to list their current problems or concerns. RESULTS: Of 156 eligible patients, 134 completed the interview. One hundred and twenty-nine patients (96%) reported current symptoms that included fatigue (66%), worried outlook (61%), difficulty sleeping (48%), and pain (42%). Forty-four patients (33%) were identified as psychologically distressed with a GHQ score of > or = 6. One hundred and fourteen patients (85%) had informational needs, 89 (66%) indicated > or = 1 social concerns, and 55 (41%) reported a need for assistance with day-to-day living. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with newly diagnosed cancer commonly report symptoms related to fatigue, pain, and psychologic distress. Other frequently reported issues relate to the need for information and social concerns regarding the patients' ability to take care of their home and maintain family and other relationships. Awareness of these issues is important for planning supportive care interventions for newly diagnosed cancer patients.     

Correlation between in vitro and in vivo parameters of commercial paracetamol tablets

Three leading and competitive commercial products of paracetamol tablets coded as brands A, B and C (A, being the innovator product) in the country were evaluated for their in vitro properties and in vivo comparative bioavailability. The studies included chemical equivalence, hardness, disintegration time, dissolution rate and systemic availability among eight healthy volunteers. The disintegration times were 2.1 min for brand A, 5.7 min for brand B and 36.2 min for brand C. The dissolution rate (T70) were 33.0 min, 74.5 min and 56.5 min for brands A, B and C, respectively. While brand A passed all the in vitro tests as specified in the official monograph, brand B failed only the dissolution rate test and brand C failed both the disintegration and dissolution tests. These significant differences observed among the products after in vitro tests were not reflected in the in vivo availability. While the absorption rate (indicated by tmax) of brand C was significantly faster (i.e. shorter) than those of Brands A and B, the extent of absorption (indicated by AUC) was comparable among the three brands. The relative bioavailabilities (with respect to brand A) were 92 and 91% for brands B and C, respectively indicating that the products were bioequivalent. Comparison of the in vitro and in vivo data suggest that the systemic absorption of paracetamol may not be dissolution--rate limited and that using in vitro dissolution rate studies alone to establish bioequivalency of paracetamol tablets should be done with caution.     

Efflux pump-mediated quinolone resistance in Staphylococcus aureus strains wild type for gyrA, gyrB, grlA, and norA

Fluoroquinolone efflux was studied in 47 Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains with MICs of ciprofloxacin (CFX) of < or = 2 micrograms/ml. Forty-three strains were wild type for gyrA, gyrB, and grlA quinolone resistance-determining regions and for norA and its promoter region. Forty of these strains (MICs of CFX, 0.1 to 0.2 microgram/ml) did not show efflux of fluoroquinolones. Three strains (MICs of CFX, 1 to 2 micrograms/ml) showed efflux. These results suggest that efflux can appear in S. aureus clinical strains in the absence of mutations in norA and its promoter.     

Lidocaine-loaded biodegradable nanospheres. I. Optimization Of the drug incorporation into the polymer matrix

Spherical nanoparticulate drug carriers made of poly(d,l-lactic acid) with controlled size were designed. A local anesthetic, lidocaine, a small hydrophobic molecule, was incorporated in the core with loadings varying from about 7 to 32% (w/w) and increasing with the particle size. Particles with sizes from about 250 to 820 nm and low polydispersity were prepared with good reproducibility; the polymer concentration (at constant surfactant concentration) governed the particle size. The large particles with a high loading ( approximately 30%) showed under in vitro conditions a slow release over 24-30 h, the medium sized carriers (loading of approximately 13%) released the drug over about 15 h, whereas the small particles with small loading ( approximately 7%) exhibited a rapid release over a couple of hours. It seems that the drug release rate is related to the state (crystallized or dispersed) of the drug incorporated in the polymer matrix.