AIDS in the black community: The plague, the politics, the people

This paper was originally developed by Calu Lester, the founder of KWICFAN, which took a novel approach to grass roots AIDS education in the black community. Calu died of AIDS before completing the work and the paper was completed by Larry L. Saxxon, who was both a friend of Calu's and an AIDS program consultant.

The paper presents a critical perspective of black America's response to the AIDS epidemic. The findings are frightening. Denial within the black community, coupled with a lack of support from the agencies responsible for funding AIDS education, has created a potential epidemiological nightmare. IV drug use continues to be a critical problem of frightening magnitude, allowing an efficient vehicle of HIV transmission. Most sadly of all, the social conditions that create and perpetuate the problematic drug abuse patterns still continue in black America. Black people are clearly becoming the new face of AIDS.     

Surveillance of Treated and Untreated Funguria in a University Hospital

Study Objective . To determine the influence of treatment on the microbiologic outcome of funguria. Design . Retrospective case series. Setting . A 300-bed tertiary care teaching hospital in a large metropolitan area. Subjects . 141 hospitalized patients, 18 years of age or older, with at least one urine culture positive (≥ 10² cfu/ml) for fungi. Interventions . Retrospective review of medical records to determine the microbiologic outcome of funguria. Main Results . Funguria developed rapidly in individuals with known predisposing factors. Urinalysis did not routinely detect the presence of fungi or pyuria. Symptoms such as fever, dysuria, and frequency were generally absent. Funguria persisted whether it was due to Candida albicans or non-albicans species. There were no statistical differences in the microbiologic outcomes of treated and untreated funguria. Conclusions . Funguria is a rapidly developing, often benign and persistent process. Minimizing predisposing risks, such as removing indwelling urinary catheters, is beneficial in its management. Pharmacologic treatment of funguria due to C. albicans or non-albicans species does not influence the microbiologic outcome.     

Disposition of Tablet and Capsule Formulations of Digoxin in the Elderly

Study Objective . To compare digoxin tablets and liquid-filled capsules with respect to excretion of the drug and its metabolites in urine and feces at steady state. Design . A randomized, crossover trial, each period lasting 3 weeks, with no washout period. Setting . A university hospital. Patients . Six patients, five of whom were elderly, with histories of gastrointestinal disorders, such as hypochlorhydria, intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and inflammatory bowel disease. Interventions . The patients received digoxin once/day in either tablet or capsule form for 3 weeks, and then were switched to the other formulation. Total urinary and fecal excretion from the last 3 days of each regimen were analyzed for the drug and metabolites. Measurements and Main Results . No statistically significant differences were found between tablets and capsules in recovery of digoxin or its metabolites in urine or feces (p=0.05). One subject had a 4-fold increase in urinary drug excretion and 50% decrease in fecal excretion after taking the capsules compared with tablets. Intersubject variability in extent and type of metabolite excretion was greater than intrasubject variability. Conclusions . Fecal analyses may be an accurate way to classify patients as formers of digoxin reduction products.     

Single- vs Multiple-Dose Pharmacokinetics of Clozapine in Psychiatric Patients

Clozapine plasma levels were monitored in 16 patients during a series of three consecutive treatments (single dose-multiple dose-single dose). Each patient received a single 75-mg dose (3 x 25 mg) with clozapine tablets, and serial plasma samples were collected over 48 hr after the dose. At 48 hr, a multiple-dose regimen was started, consisting of an initial dose escalation period followed by dosing at a constant regimen for at least 6 days. After the last dose, serial plasma samples were again obtained over 72 hr. Drug was then withheld for at least 7 days, a final single 75-mg dose was given, and plasma sampling was repeated. A subset of the patient population (N = 7) was used to test for a food effect during the single-dose treatments. The pharmacokinetic parameters between the initial and the final single dose periods were not significantly different. Similarly, there were no differences within patients when given the dose after fasting (fed 1 hr after dose) or with a meal. In contrast, the terminal elimination rate differed between the single-dose and the multiple-dose treatments (t1/2 m3 = 7.9 hr single dose and 14.2 hr multiple dose) (P less than 0.05) and the dose-normalized area under the plasma concentration/time curves increased 27% with multiple dosing. Since a previous study in patients (Choc et al., Pharm. Res. 4:402-405, 1987) showed dose proportionality of clozapine plasma concentrations during multiple-dose regimens, the present results cannot be described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics.     

Congenital torticollis: Evaluation by fine-needle aspiration biopsy

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy, used extensively for evaluating head and neck masses in adults, also provides an excellent minimally invasive means of evaluating infants with neck masses and torticollis. Three cases of torticollis involving infants are presented. In each case, fine-needle aspiration revealed a benign fibrous lesion, ruling out malignancy. The remaining cytologic differential diagnosis between infantile fibromatosis, fibromatosis colli, and calcifying aponeurotic fibrosis is discussed, with mention of the possible causes of and treatment for congenital torticollis. We conclude that fine-needle aspiration provides a fast and accurate diagnosis of neck masses in infants who have congenital torticollis, thereby avoiding surgical procedures in this very young age group.     

Ethics and Economics in Search of a Common Language

Book reviewed in this article: The Needs of Strangers . By Michael Ignatieff. The Health Economy . By Victor Fuchs. Just Health Care . By Norman Daniels     

Myeloablative 131I-tositumomab radioimmunotherapy in treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: comparison of dosimetry based on whole-body retention and dose to critical organ receiving the highest dose.

Myeloablative radioimmunotherapy using (131)I-tositumomab (anti-CD20) monoclonal antibodies is an effective therapy for B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The amount of radioactivity for radioimmunotherapy may be determined by several methods, including those based on whole-body retention and on dose to a limiting normal organ. The goal of each approach is to deliver maximal myeloablative amounts of radioactivity within the tolerance of critical normal organs. METHODS: Records of 100 consecutive patients who underwent biodistribution and dosimetry evaluation after tracer infusion of (131)I-tositumomab before radioimmunotherapy were reviewed. We assessed organ and tissue activities over time by serial gamma-camera imaging to calculate radiation-absorbed doses. Organ volumes were determined from CT scans for organ-specific dosimetry. These dose estimates helped us to determine therapy on the basis of projected dose to the critical normal organ receiving a maximum tolerable radiation dose. We compared organ-specific dosimetry for treatment planning with the whole-body dose-assessment method by retrospectively analyzing the differences in projected organ-absorbed doses and their ratios. RESULTS: Mean organ doses per unit of administered activity (mGy/MBq) estimated by both methods were 0.33 for liver and 0.33 for lungs by the whole-body method and 1.52 for liver and 1.74 for lungs by the organ-specific method (P=0.0001). The median differences between methods were 0.92 mGy/MBq (range, 0.36-2.2 mGy/MBq) for lungs, 0.82 mGy/MBq (range, 0.28-1.67 mGy/MBq) for liver, and -0.01 mGy/MBq (range, -0.18-0.16 mGy/MBq) for whole body. The median ratios of the treatment activities based on limiting normal-organ dose were 5.12 (range, 2.33-10.01) for lungs, 4.14 (range, 2.16-6.67) for liver, and 0.94 (range, 0.79-1.22) for whole body. We found substantial differences between the dose estimated by the 2 methods for liver and lungs (P=0.0001). CONCLUSION: Dosimetry based on whole-body retention will underestimate the organ doses, and a preferable approach is to evaluate organ-specific doses by accounting for actual radionuclide biodistribution. Myeloablative treatments based on the latter approach allow administration of the maximum amount of radioactivity while minimizing toxicity.     

Aripiprazole for the treatment of psychoses in institutionalized patients with Alzheimer dementia: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled assessment of three fixed doses.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole for psychosis associated with Alzheimer dementia (AD). METHODS: In this double-blind, multicenter study, 487 institutionalized patients with psychosis associated with AD were randomized to placebo or aripiprazole, 2, 5 or 10 mg/day. Primary efficacy assessment was the mean change from baseline to week 10 on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home (NPI-NH) version Psychosis Subscale score. Secondary measures included NPI-NH Total, Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) Core and Total, and the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) scores. RESULTS: Aripiprazole 10 mg/day showed significantly greater improvements (mean change [2 x SD]) than placebo on the NPI-NH Psychosis Subscale (-6.87 [8.6] versus -5.13 [10.0]; F = 6.29, df = 1, 422, p = 0.013 by analysis of covariance [ANCOVA]); CGI-S (-0.72 [1.8] versus -0.46 [1.6]; F = 4.68, df = 1, 419, p = 0.031 [ANCOVA]); BPRS Total (-7.12 [18.4] versus -4.17 [21.6]; F = 4.72, df = 1, 399, p = 0.030 [ANCOVA]); BPRS Core (-3.07 [6.9] versus -1.74 [7.8]; F = 7.30, df = 1, 407, p = 0.007 [ANCOVA]); CMAI (-10.96 [22.6] versus -6.64 [28.6]; F = 5.23, df = 1, 410, p = 0.023 [ANCOVA]), and NPI-NH Psychosis response rate (65 versus 50%; chi(2) = 5.52, df = 1, p = 0.019 [CMH]). Aripiprazole 5 mg/day showed significant improvements versus placebo on BPRS and CMAI scores. Aripiprazole 2 mg/day was not efficacious. Cerebrovascular adverse events were reported: aripiprazole 2 mg/day, N = 1; 5 mg/day, N = 2; 10 mg/day, N = 4; placebo, N = 0. No deaths in any group (aripiprazole 2 mg/day, 3%; 5 mg/day, 2%; 10 mg/day, 7%; placebo, 3%) were considered to be treatment-related. CONCLUSION: Aripiprazole 10 mg/day was efficacious and safe for psychosis associated with AD, significantly improving psychotic symptoms, agitation, and clinical global impression. However, clinicians should be aware of the safety considerations of atypical antipsychotic uses in this population.