Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Amphotericin B is one of the most useful therapeutic modalities for the treatment of patients with invasive fungal infections, in spite of serious side effects, namely kidney injury, electrolyte imbalances, and infusion-related reactions. The goal of this study was to assess the different aspects of premedication practice and the incidence and types of infusion-related reactions in patients receiving amphotericin B.
Methods: This observational study was performed on 70 hospitalized patients who received amphotericin B in different departments of two university hospitals, affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, from January 2017 to February 2018. Information on physicians’ performance regarding premedication administration for amphotericin B, including the types and doses of medications administered prior to amphotericin B infusion, as well as patients’ clinical data including infusion-related side effects were collected and then analyzed in comparison with the standard practice guidelines.
Results: The study population consisted of 70 patients with the mean age of 51.6±18.3 years, who received amphotericin B for 8.2±3.5 days. From 70 evaluated patients, 21 patients (30%) had encountered the infusion-related reactions, including chills, fever, urticaria, headache, and hypotension. These side effects were evident in 19 patients (27%) who received no premedication and 2 patients (3%) who received only one drug as premedication, before amphotericin B administration. Twenty patients (28%) experienced chills, fever and headache, while 7 patients (10%) had nausea and vomiting during amphotericin B infusion. Hydrocortisone 50-200 mg, was the most prescribed agent for premedication (in 67% of patients), while chlorpheniramine 10 mg (in 50% of patients) and promethazine 10 mg (in 35% of patients) were the second and third prescribed ones, respectively.
Conclusion: In this study, the patients who received no or only one drug as premedication experienced infusion-related side effects. This emphasizes the necessity for standard premedication practices to prevent this type of adverse reactions. Considering the higher price of liposomal form of Amphotericin-B, if prescribed correctly, even the conventional form would be an effective and tolerable treatment for invasive fungal infections.

Background: Pentoxifylline, a valuable medication with promising clinical characteristics and considerable profile of safety is used in many conditions namely chronic kidney diseases (CKD). However, the decision to prescribe pentoxifylline for anemia in CKD should be based on evidence accrued from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Yet, substantial heterogeneity exists in studies performed to evaluate pentoxifylline therapy, particularly in relation to classification of patients, the different quality and research design, sample size, baseline parameters, clinical outcome measures, and definition of endpoints and clinically meaningful improvements. As a result, assessment of pentoxifylline in treating anemia of CKD by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published relevant clinical studies seems rational and promising.
Methods: The present systematic review was done in accordance with the PRISMA guideline for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Peer-reviewed RCTs with at least four weeks of follow-up were including in the meta-analysis. Online databases (PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus) were searched to December 2017 using selected MeSH terms related to the studied topic. Data was extracted independently by two reviewers using a standard form and then cross-checked. Statistical analyses were carrying out with Stata Software, version 7.0 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data are presented as standard mean difference (SMD) and confidence interval (CI) 95%.

Background: Intravenous (IV) injection of drugs is one of the most common methods of drug prescription in hospitals, which is a complex, potentially hazardous and erroneous method; accordingly, it requires control methods to reduce the potential risks. This study focused on determining the frequency and types of different medication errors while preparing and administering mostly used IV drugs in three intensive care units (ICU) and one general department in AL-Zahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted for 6 months from September 2017 to March 2018. To determine the frequency of different medication errors, a quoting sampling method was applied to select and observe 400 cases of IV drug administrations. All nurses from any studied department were included in this study. Different stages of preparation and administration of the observed drugs were compared to an instructed checklist prepared by the clinical pharmacist.