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OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of drug allergies in a population of surgical patients. To establish a clinical classification of events as being very or not very likely to be allergic reactions. To detect which drug groups are associated with greater incidence of anaphylactic reaction and to analyze the severity of such reactions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Epidemiological study. During a preoperative interview, patients were asked if they were aware of the existence of any episode of allergy to drugs. If a patient answered yes, a specific data collection questionnaire on allergies was completed. Based on signs and symptoms described by the patient, reactions were classified as indicating high likelihood of allergy, low likelihood of allergy, or as being of unknown origin. RESULTS: We questioned 1,218 patients (754 women/464 men), of whom 159 (13.05%) reported being allergic to drugs. The total number of drugs employed was 212 (1.34 drugs/patient). Antibiotics (54.7%), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (19.3%), radiological contrast media (6.1%) and local anesthetics (4.7%) were the substance groups most often mentioned. We classified 74.5% of the reactions as indicating high likelihood of allergy, 19.8% as indicating low likelihood, and 5.6% to be of unknown origin. The skin was involved in 72.1% of the reactions that were highly likely to have been caused by allergy; 6.9% of these reactions involved the respiratory tract, 4.4% the circulatory system, 12% the skin plus respiratory tract, and 4.4% the skin plus respiratory and circulatory systems. The most severe reactions (16.4%) were associated with radiological contrast media (36.4%), NSAIDs (33.3%) and intravenous administration (38.1%). Signs of latex allergy were seen in 0.4% and signs of allergy to hair dyes in 0.9%. All allergy tests were negative in all these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Drug allergy is reported by 13% of patients. It is highly likely that 74.5% of reactions are due to allergy. Antibiotics are the most frequently implicated drugs, followed by NSAIDs. The most serious reactions are caused by radiological contrast media and NSAIDs. Intravenous administration causes the most serious reactions.

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There is a relationship between chronic renal damage and renal function at the time of biopsy. Since the quantification of interstitial lesions with morphometric techniques is very time consuming, a fully automatic method to quantify chronic damage is desirable. Progression of chronic renal damage could be viewed as a texture modification of tubulointerstitial structures. The aim of the present work is to study whether chronic renal damage could be automatically measured by means of texture analysis based on mathematical morphology. Among the morphological tools the best suited for our purpose is that of granulometry. Between four and six fields from 35 renal biopsies with different degrees of renal damage were stained with Sirius red and digitized under polarized light. In each field granulometric function with a circular structuring element was obtained. Interstitial volume fraction was measured with a point counting technique. Glomerular filtration rate at the time of biopsy was available in each case. A positive relationship between granulometric function and glomerular filtration rate was observed (r2 = 0.85). The determination coefficient between interstitial volume fraction and renal function was (r2 = 0.54). In conclusion, we describe a fully automatic method that precisely quantifies interstitial chronic renal damage.

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A randomised double-blind comparison of oral famotidine and ranitidine given 2 hours before induction, on gastric secretion (volume and pH) was carried out on 93 patients undergoing elective surgery. Gastric contents were aspirated immediately after tracheal intubation. Famotidine significantly reduced the gastric volume, compared with the other groups, including ranitidine. Both famotidine and ranitidine significantly elevated gastric pH towards neutral, compared with the other groups. There was no significant difference between ranitidine and famotidine in respect of the pH. The patients premedicated with famotidine and ranitidine were well protected against Mendelson's syndrome, whereas 38% of patients from the other groups remained at risk.

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A case report is presented of a woman with known myotonia dystrophica, who required partial gastric resection and cholecystectomy. Neuromuscular blockade was obtained using a single dose of vecuronium, and neuromuscular function was determined by the "train-of-four count" technique. The intraoperative course was uneventful, and it was not necessary to use neostigmine to antagonize neuromuscular blockade at the end of the operation. There were no postoperative complications and the patient was discharged from hospital 10 days later.

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The thyrotropic functional abilities of ectopically transplanted anterior pituitaries were tested by subjecting quail bearing their adenohypophysis in juxtarenal position either to a short cold exposure or to an intravenous injection of TRH. Thyroxine was determined in plasma samples collected from 20 to 120 min after treatment. Intact birds exhibited increasing T4 levels up to a peak at 40 min, then decreasing slowly within 2 hr after either cold or TRH stimulation. Autografted birds exhibited significant although lower and delayed increase of plasma thyroxine following both stimuli.

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