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Biomedical subjects

M Cates

Publications and source records attributed to M Cates.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Concomitant rash and blood dyscrasias in geriatric psychiatry patients treated with carbamazepine.

BACKGROUND: Rashes and blood dyscrasias are disconcerting adverse effects associated with carbamazepine therapy. Rashes are quite common, as are mild blood dyscrasias, such as mild leukopenias. Fortunately, severe rashes and blood dyscrasias are rare. There are few reports on the relationship between carbamazepine-induced rashes and blood dyscrasias, including a prospective study in which rash appeared concomitantly with leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia in 10 patients, two case reports in which simultaneous rash and agranulocytosis occurred, and two case reports in which rashes served as harbingers of fatal aplastic anemia. CASE REPORTS: We report two cases of concomitant rashes and blood dyscrasias in geriatric psychiatry patients receiving carbamazepine therapy for bipolar disorder. One patient was found to have a severe leukopenia within several days after rash onset. The other patient was discovered to have a severe leukopenia and thrombocytopenia within about a month after rash onset. DISCUSSION: Current hematologic monitoring guidelines for carbamazepine rely heavily on the recognition of signs and symptoms of blood dyscrasias by clinicians and patients. We believe that our cases support the suggestion that patients who develop rashes receive more vigilant monitoring of the complete blood count, should carbamazepine therapy by continued. Given the currently available case reports and the fact that the incidence of drug-induced blood dyscrasias increases with advanced age, this recommendation may be particularly relevant for geriatric patients. CONCLUSIONS: Further study is required to establish whether carbamazepine-induced concomitant rashes and blood dyscrasias are valid associations insofar as monitoring is concerned.

Aged↗

Are calcium-channel blockers effective in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia?

OBJECTIVE: To review the data describing the use of calcium-channel blockers in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD). DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search of the English-language literature and a bibliographic review of pertinent articles examining the use of calcium-channel blockers in the treatment of TD were performed. Medical Subject Headings (MESH) terms used were calcium-channel blockers, tardive dyskinesia, nifedipine, verapamil, and diltiazem. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Relevant case reports, open trials, and controlled studies reporting on the efficacy of calcium-channel blockers for treating TD are reviewed. Appropriate conclusions are drawn from the data and guidelines are suggested for the practitioner. DATA SYNTHESIS: Studies addressing the efficacy of calcium-channel blockers in the palliative treatment of TD have yielded mixed results. Positive findings have been reported for nifedipine, verapamil, and diltiazem; nifedipine may be the most efficacious treatment and diltiazem the least. It appears that patients with TD who can tolerate higher doses of calcium-channel blockers may respond more favorably to treatment. Patient characteristics that may help determine a better response to treatment with calcium-channel blockers include advanced age and more-severe TD. CONCLUSIONS: To determine the efficacy of calcium-channel blockers in the treatment of TD, additional data are needed from double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with larger sample sizes and longer durations of treatment. Until these data are available, calcium-channel blockers should be considered potentially useful therapy for the heretofore unresponsive TD.

Aged↗

Gastroesophageal dysfunction in Cornelia de Lange syndrome.

Children with Cornelia de Lange (CDL) syndrome present with feeding problems related to swallowing incoordination, poor esophageal motility, and gastroesophageal reflux (GER). These abnormalities of esophageal function result in failure to thrive and life-threatening aspiration pneumonia. Severe GER was documented in four patients with CDL syndrome. Three were managed successfully with an antireflux procedure (Nissen fundoplication) and a concomitant feeding gastrostomy. These observations confirm the high incidence of abnormal esophageal function in patients with CDL syndrome, and suggest that an antireflux procedure and feeding gastrostomy are important considerations in their clinical management.

Child, Preschool↗

Reliability of self-reported age of first drug use: analysis of New York City narcotics register data.

New York City Narcotics Register data were analyzed to determine the consistency of self-reported age of first drug use among multiple reports on a single individual. There were 15,263 individuals with two or more reports between January 1973 and April 1974 which specified age of first drug use. Discrepancies were noted in 68% of cases; in 31% the responses differed by 3 or more years. Even among reports from a single agency, there were discrepancies in 45% of cases. The degree of consistency was only slightly better when the analysis was restricted to subjects 20 years of age and younger. No comparable inconsistency was observed with respect to self-reported year of birth.

Adolescent↗