Estimating high risk cannabis and opiate use in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir

Aims. Information on high risk drug use in Turkey particularly at the regional level is lacking. The present analysis aims at estimating high risk cannabis (HRCU) and high risk opiate use (HROU) in the cities of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. Design and Methods. Capture-recapture (CRC) and multiplier methods (MM) were applied based on treatment and police data stratified by age and gender in the years 2009 and 2010. Case definitions refer to ICD-10 cannabis (F.12) and opiate (F.11) disorder diagnoses from out- and inpatient treatment records and illegal possession of these drugs as recorded by the police. Results. HRCU was estimated at 28,500 (8.5 per 1,000; 95%-CI: 7.3-10.3) and 33,400 (11.9 per 1,000; 95%-CI: 10.7-13.5) in Ankara and Izmir, respectively. Using multipliers based on CRC estimates for Izmir, HRCU in Istanbul was estimated up to 166,000 (18.0 per 1,000; range: 2.8-18.0). CRC estimates of HROU resulted in 4,800 (1.4 per 1,000; 95% CI: 0.9-1.9) in Ankara and multipliers based on these gave estimates up to 20,000 (2.2 per 1,000; range: 0.9-1-7) in Istanbul. HROU in Izmir was not estimated due to the low absolute numbers of opiate users. Discussion and Conclusions. While HRCU prevalence in both Ankara and Izmir was considerably lower in comparison to an estimate for Berlin, the rate for Istanbul was only slightly lower. Compared to the majority of European cities HROU in these three Turkish cities may be considered rather low

Drug safety of rosiglitazone and pioglitazone in France: a study using the French PharmacoVigilance database

International audienceBackgroundThiazolidinediones (TZDs), rosiglitazone (RGZ) and pioglitazone (PGZ) are widely used as hypoglycemic drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of our study was to investigate the profile of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) related to TZDs and to investigate potential risk factors of these ADRs.MethodsType 2 diabetic patients were identified from the French Database of PharmacoVigilance (FPVD) between 2002 and 2006. We investigated ADR related to TZD, focusing on 4 ADR: edema, heart failure, myocardial infarction and hepatitis corresponding to specific WHO-ART terms.ResultsAmong a total of 99,284 adult patients in the FPVD, 2295 reports concerned type 2 diabetic patients (2.3% of the whole database), with 161 (7%) exposed to TZDs. The frequency of edema and cardiac failure was significantly higher with TZDs than in other patients (18% and 7.4% versus 0.8% and 0.1% respectively, p ConclusionsThiazolidinediones exposure is associated with an increased risk of edema and heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes even when recommendations for use are respected. In contrast, the risk of hepatic reactions and myocardial infarction with this class of drugs seems to be similar to other hypoglycemic agents

HIV and incarceration: prisons and detention

The high prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners and pre-trial detainees, combined with overcrowding and sub-standard living conditions sometimes amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of international law, make prisons and other detention centres a high risk environment for the transmission of HIV. Ultimately, this contributes to HIV epidemics in the communities to which prisoners return upon their release

Validation and clinical application of a LC-MS/MS method for the quantitative determination of 10 anti-retrovirals in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

N