Dasatinib ; Humans ; Pyrimidines ; adverse effects ; Thiazoles ; adverse effects ; Tumor Lysis Syndrome ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical features and prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with dasatinib.

METHODSTo present a case of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with long-term exposure to dasatinib and review the related literatures.

RESULTSA 23-year-old female with chronic myelogenous leukemia was treated with dasatinib at a dosage of 140 mg/d after failure of imatinib treatment and achieved complete cytogenetic response. The patient was presented with exertional dyspnea after 35 months of administration with dasatinib. The electrocardiogram showed right ventricular hypertrophy and right axis deviation; transthoracic Doppler echocardiography documented a reduction in diameters of left heart chambers with normal systolic left ventricular function, right heart chambers and pulmonary trunk dilatation, an estimated pulmonary arterial pressure of 114 mmHg; Computed tomography showed thickened pulmonary artery. PAH related to dasatinib was diagnosed and dasatinib was permanently discontinued. The symptom of dyspnea disappeared quickly after withdrawal of dasatinib. The heart structure and pulmonary arterial pressure completely recovered after 7 months of dasatinib discontinuation.

CONCLUSIONPAH is a rare adverse effect of dasatinib treatment. Echocardiograhpy, as a non-invasive screening test for PAH, should be performed before starting dasatinib treatment and repeated during the administration with dasatinib. Dasatinib should be withdrawn permanently in patients with PAH.

Dasatinib ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; chemically induced ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; Prognosis ; Pyrimidines ; adverse effects ; Thiazoles ; adverse effects ; Young Adult

Antifungal Agents ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant ; Meningitis, Cryptococcal ; drug therapy ; Pyrimidines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Triazoles ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Voriconazole

We report a case of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy associated with udenafil. A 54-year-old male presented with an acute onset visual field defect of the right eye after udenafil use. Examination revealed a relative afferent pupillary defect and a swollen disc. Automated visual fields revealed an enlarged blind spot and a narrowed visual field. Fluorescein angiography revealed both an inferior choroidal filling delay and an inferior sector filling delay of the optic disc in the arteriovenous phase as well as diffuse leakage of the optic disc in the late phase. Optical coherent tomography revealed increased thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer, especially in the area of the inferior disc. The patient was counseled to discontinue the use of udenafil and to monitor his blood pressure regularly. The disc swelling was resolved with residual optic atrophy one month after discontinuing the use of udenafil.
Acute Disease ; Choroid/*pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Optic Neuropathy, Ischemic/*chemically induced/diagnosis ; Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors/adverse effects ; Pyrimidines/*adverse effects ; Sulfonamides/*adverse effects ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Fields

BACKGROUNDRosuvastatin has been claimed to be more potent than other statins in its ability to lower the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of rosuvastatin in LDL cholesterol lowering therapy for new or switched hyperlipidaemic Chinese patients.

METHODSThis study was a retrospective one in patients who took rosuvastatin in the outpatient clinics of Prince of Wales Hospital during the period of July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. The prescribing pattern, the utilization pattern and the side effect profile were recorded. Attainment of lipid goals for each patient was assessed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP ATP) III guidelines.

RESULTSA total of 261 Chinese patients (mean age (64.8 +/- 12) years; 55.6% male) were recruited into the study. The mean LDL-cholesterol level was (3.50 +/- 1.29) mmol/L prior to Rosuvastatin and (2.30 +/- 1.73) mmol/L after Rosuvastatin treatment (P < 0.0001). Rosuvastatin raised the LDL-cholesterol goal achievement rate from 28.0% to 74.3% in all patients combined (P < 0.0001) and from 11.0% to 79.0% for statin naive patients (P < 0.0001). Approximately 4% of patients developed side effects including myalgia, elevated liver enzymes, and dizziness.

CONCLUSIONRosuvastatin was effective in improving LDL-cholesterol goal attainment and lowering LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) levels in either newly started or switched patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Female ; Fluorobenzenes ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pyrimidines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Rosuvastatin Calcium ; Sulfonamides ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

This is a case report on a 35-year-old man with acute myelogenous leukemia who presented fever and intermittent mucoid loose stool to the emergency center. He had been taking voriconazole for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The flexible sigmoidoscopy was consistent with the diagnosis of pseudomembranous colitis.
Adult ; Antifungal Agents/*adverse effects ; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous/*chemically induced/pathology ; Humans ; Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/complications/drug therapy ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/complications ; Male ; Opportunistic Infections/complications/drug therapy ; Pyrimidines/*adverse effects ; Triazoles/*adverse effects

Adult ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Gynecomastia ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; Male ; Piperazines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

This paper presents a case of reversible dysphasia occurring in a patient prescribed atorvastatin in combination with indapamide. A milder dysphasia recurred with the prescription of rosuvastatin and was documented on clinical examination. This resolved following cessation of rosuvastatin. The case highlights both a need for a wider understanding of potential drug interactions through the CYP 450 system and for an increased awareness, questioning and reporting of drug side-effects.
Anticholesteremic Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use ; Anxiety/diagnosis ; Aphasia/diagnosis/*etiology ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/metabolism ; Depression/diagnosis ; Drug Interactions ; Female ; Fluorobenzenes/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Heptanoic Acids/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia/drug therapy ; Indapamide/therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Pyrimidines/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Pyrroles/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Sulfonamides/adverse effects/*therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy and safety of atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and xuezhikang capsule in elderly.

METHODSA total of 314 60-to-94-year-old (average (73.6 ± 7.9) years old) patients who were given different doses and types of statins were divided into three groups: the atorvastatin group (108 patients), the rosuvastatin group (104 patients) and the xuezhikang capsule group (102 patients). The serum TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C,ALT and CK were examined before and after the treatment which lasted for at least 4 weeks. All patients were divided into moderate risk group (13, 12 and 21 patients respectively in 3 groups); high risk group (40, 44 and 48 patients respectively in 3 groups) and very high risk group (55, 48 and 33 patients respectively in 3 groups ) according to guidelines on prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia in chinese adults (2007 version). The rate of reaching target goal and the dose when reaching target levels in different risk stratification groups were calculated and compared.

RESULTSSerum TC, LDL-C and non-HDL-C were significantly reduced after the 4-week-treatment in all the three groups (P < 0.01). Serum LDL-C level before and after treatment were (3.14 ± 0.78)mmol/L vs. (2.14 ± 0.65)mmol/L in atorvastatin group (the arevage dose was (16.4 ± 4.8)mg/d), (2.92 ± 0.77)mmol/L vs. (1.96 ± 0.55)mmol/L in rosuvastatin group (the arevage dose was (8.7 ± 3.0) mg/d), and (2.70 ± 0.62)mmol/L vs. (2.16 ± 0.61) mmol/L in xuezhikang capsule group (the arevage dose was (0.9 ± 0.3) g/d ). Among all the three groups of patients, the cases of reaching target levels of LDL-C were 13, 11 and 20 in patients at moderate risk, were 38(95.0%), 38(86.4%) and 40 (83.3%) in patients at high risk, and were 22(40.0%), 30(62.5%) and 17(51.5%) in patients at very high risk. There were no statistical differences in the rate of reaching target levels of LDL-C, non-HDL-C and TC in the three groups and at different risks (P > 0.05). One patient in the atorvastatin group showed ALT level elevation >3 times of the upper limit of normal value, there was no patient with CK level elevation >5 times of the upper limit of normal value.

CONCLUSIONAtorvastatin, rosuvastatin and xuezhikang capsule at low dose and/or standard dose are effective and safety in elderly patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anticholesteremic Agents ; Atorvastatin Calcium ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dyslipidemias ; drug therapy ; Female ; Fluorobenzenes ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Heptanoic Acids ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pyrimidines ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Pyrroles ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Rosuvastatin Calcium ; Sulfonamides ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

Imatinib has been recognized as the frontline therapy drug in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), however, only limited patients could achieve complete molecular remission (CMR). Recent clinical and basic proofs indicated an improved treatment outcome by the combination of interferon and Imatinib. This study was purposed to evaluated systematically the efficacy and safety of interferon plus Imatinib in patients with CML. Data from relative clinical trials were from clinical trial of gov and Cochrane Collaboration. A comprehensive literature search was performed from data bases such as pubMed and EM. The results indicated that 7 clinical trials and 12 research papers met the criteria enrolled in study, included 697 cases in total. The combination group had higher complete cytogenetic remission (CCgR) rate than imatinib alone at 6 months (58% vs 42%; P = 0.0001) and 12 months (74% vs 68%; P = 0.004). The major molecular remission (MMR) rate was also higher in the combination group at 6 months (58% vs 34%; P = 0.0001) and 12 months (66% vs 47%; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, compared with single drug, the combination group had superior CMR rate at 6 months (13% vs 2%; P = 0.0002) and 12 months (14% vs 5%; P = 0.0009). The major adverse effects of combination therapy were rash, asthenia, edema and musculoskeletal events, and combination therapy was more prone to inducing neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and mild anemia. It is concluded that compared with Imatinib alone, the combination of interferon and Imatinib has better clinical efficacy in treating CML with earlier cytogenetic and molecular remission. It is also a safe therapy in spite of slightly weaker tolerance than single drug therapy.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Interferons ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; Piperazines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Pyrimidines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Treatment Outcome