Snakebite: Admissions at a tertiary health care centre in Maharashtra, India

Objectives. To determine the outcome, seasonal variation, and death pattern of snakebite cases admitted at the tertiary health care centre in the last 10 years. Methods. This was a record-based retrospective descriptive study at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Vazirabad, a tertiary health care centre in Maharashtra, India. Results. Out of 5 639 admitted snakebite cases, 65.24% were male. The 16 - 45-year age group accounted for 84.7% of cases; 46% were referred from other health centres, mostly from rural areas; 55.2% occurred during July to September, which coincided with the rainy season in this region; 94.6% of the snakebite patients survived; and 5.4% died. Case fatality rates were higher for females (8.78%) and for bites by neurotoxic snakes (8.91%). Conclusions. Snakebite is a common life-threatening emergency in the study area. Ready availability and appropriate use of antivenom, early referral when required and close monitoring of patients in the hospital will help to reduce mortality from snakebites

Snakebite: Admissions at a tertiary health care centre in Maharashtra, India

Objectives. To determine the outcome, seasonal variation, and death pattern of snakebite cases admitted at the tertiary health care centre in the last 10 years. Methods. This was a record-based retrospective descriptive study at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Vazirabad, a tertiary health care centre in Maharashtra, India. Results. Out of 5 639 admitted snakebite cases, 65.24% were male. The 16 - 45-year age group accounted for 84.7% of cases; 46% were referred from other health centres, mostly from rural areas; 55.2% occurred during July to September, which coincided with the rainy season in this region; 94.6% of the snakebite patients survived; and 5.4% died. Case fatality rates were higher for females (8.78%) and for bites by neurotoxic snakes (8.91%). Conclusions. Snakebite is a common life-threatening emergency in the study area. Ready availability and appropriate use of antivenom, early referral when required and close monitoring of patients in the hospital will help to reduce mortality from snakebites

Čvrsta disperzija meloksikama: faktorijalno dizajnirani dozirani pripravak za gerijatrijsku populaciju

The objective of the present work was to improve the dissolution properties of the poorly water-soluble drug meloxicam by preparing solid dispersions with hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), mannitol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 and to develop a dosage form for geriatric population. Differential scanning calorimetry, X–ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the solid-state physical structure of the prepared solid dispersions. Higher in vitro dissolution of solid dispersions was recorded compared to their corresponding physical mixtures and the pure drug. PEG 4000 in 1:9 drug to carrier ratio exhibited the highest drug release (100.2%), followed by mannitol (98.2%) and HEC (89.5%) in the same ratio. Meloxicam-PEG 4000 solid dispersion was formulated into suspension and optimization was carried out by 23 factorial design. Formulations containing higher levels of methyl cellulose and higher levels of either sodium citrate or Tween 80 exhibited the highest drug release.Cilj rada bio je poboljšati topljivost meloksikama u vodi pripravom čvrstih disperzija s hidroksietilcelulozom (HEC), manitolom i polietilen glikolom 4000 (PEG 4000) te razviti dozirani pripravaka za gerijatrijsku populaciju. Za ispitivanje fizičke strukture pripravljenih čvrstih disperzija korištene su diferencijalna pretražna kalorimetrija, difraktometrija rentgentskim zrakama, FTIR i pretražna elektronska mikroskopija. Čvrste disperzije su u in vitro uvjetima pokazale bolju topljivost u odnosu na fizičku smjesu i čistu ljekovitu tvar. Najbolje oslobađanje lijeka (100,2%). postignuto je iz disperzija s PEG 4000 (omjer ljekovite tvari i nosača 1:9). Slijede manitol (98,2%) i HEC (89,5%) (isti omjer meloksikama i polimera). Čvrsta disperzija meloksikama s PEG 4000 prevedena je u suspenziju te optimirana 23 faktorijalnim dizajnom. Najbolje oslobađanje ljekovite tvari postignuto je iz pripravaka koji sadrže veći udio etilceluloze i natrijevog citrata, odnosno Tween 80

EVALUATION OF MUTAGENIC PROPERTIES OF 2(C6H15N2O2)+2I3-H2O IODINE COORDINATION COMPLEX IN BACTERIAL REVERSE MUTATION TEST

Objective: 2(C6H15N2O2)+ 2I3-H2O iodine coordination complex is a new pharmaceutical substance that have high antibacterial activity against both sensitive and multidrug resistant strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: Mutagenicity of 2(C6H15N2O2)+2I3-H2O iodine coordination complex was assessed using Salmonella/microsome (Ames) test. Tester strains used were Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA 1537 and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA. The mutagenic activity was determined both in the absence or presence of S9 mixture. Results: The study have shown that test item did not cause any increase in the number of his+ revertants in S.typhimurium and trp+revertants in E.coli WP2uvrA strains in the presence or absence of S9-mix, compared to the controls. Conclusion: Under the conditions of this test and according to the criteria set for the evaluation of the test results, the 2(C6H15N2O2)+ 2I3-H2O iodine coordination complex did not show mutagenic activity in the S. typhimurium and E.coli plate incorporation assay