Phenytoin is widely used as an anticonvulsant. In overdose situations phenytoin demonstrates saturable metabolic kinetics making treatment difficult. Phenytoin's high protein binding makes it a poor candidate for hemodialysis or hemoperfusion. We report a case of an attempted suicide in which plasmaphoresis was used in an attempt to lower plasma levels and reduce toxicity. A review of the use of plasmaphoresis in acute intoxications is included.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Report on the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Oven-cleaner pads: new risk for corrosive injury.

Over a six-month period, the New Jersey Poison Information System received 61 calls related to exposures to alkaline corrosives. Seven of these calls related to a new oven-cleaner product, oven-cleaner pads. These pads are sealed in a protective plastic wrap and contain lye in excess of 5%. Use of these products requires careful opening of the seal and caution in application. Five of the callers sustained injuries from their exposure, and three of these sustained burns, one in the oral cavity and one in the eye. None suffered permanent sequelae, but the potential for such is considerable. The method of application, concentration of base, and prolonged exposure to a widely covered area may make this product particularly hazardous.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pseudoaneurysm of the aorta after heart-lung transplantation: diagnosis by color flow Doppler mapping.

Five months after heart-lung transplantation for treatment of end-stage cystic fibrosis, a 14-year-old girl had a swelling over the manubrium that was identified as a pseudoaneurysm at the aortic anastomotic site by means of cross-sectional echocardiography with color flow Doppler mapping. The diagnosis was confirmed at operation, despite which she died. Biopsy material taken during the operation revealed chronic sternal osteomyelitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Disruption of the aortic anastomosis by infection may be a major complication of heart-lung transplantation for treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Incidence of obliterative bronchiolitis after heart-lung transplantation in children.

Between June 1988 and February 1993, combined heart-lung transplantation was performed in 30 children and adolescents aged 3.6 to 18.6 years (mean, 12.2 years) at The Hospital for Sick Children in London. Original diagnoses included cystic fibrosis (n = 25), Eisenmenger's syndrome (n = 4), and chronic graft-versus-host disease of the lung (n = 1). Posttransplantation maintenance immunosuppression comprised a triple regimen, with methylprednisolone and antithymocyte globulin given perioperatively and for episodes of allograft rejection. Actuarial survival was 63% (95% confidence interval: 42%-78%) at 1 year and 48% (95% confidence interval: 27%-66%) at 3 years. Obliterative bronchiolitis has been diagnosed in 13 patients (43%). Actuarial freedom from obliterative bronchiolitis in survivors was 76%, 59%, and 37% at 12, 24, and 36 months after transplantation, respectively. Recipients in whom obliterative bronchiolitis developed within the first year (n = 6) had more episodes of pulmonary rejection during the first 6 months after transplantation (mean, 5.7 episodes per patient) than those in whom "premature" obliterative bronchiolitis did not develop (mean, 3.2 episodes per patient). Infection of the pulmonary allograft was implicated to a lesser extent in predisposing to obliterative bronchiolitis. At 2, 3, and 6 months, tracheal stenosis developed in three patients, all of whom died with obliterative bronchiolitis within 10 months of transplantation. Noncompliance with therapy was considered a contributory factor in producing obliterative bronchiolitis in four adolescent recipients. The high incidence of obliterative bronchiolitis observed in this pediatric cohort may have a multifactorial cause.

Actuarial Analysis↗