The role of testing in pharmacovigilance for ß-lactam-induced serum sickness-like reaction: A pilot study.

Current pharmacovigilance (PV) methods for detection of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) fail to capture rare immune-mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) due to their scarcity and the lack of clear diagnostic criteria. Drug-induced serum sickness-like reactions (SSLRs) are rare type of DHRs that occur in susceptible patients 1-3 weeks after exposure to the culprit drug with ß-lactam antibiotics being the most associated drugs. The diagnosis of drug induced SSLR is difficult due to the lack of safe and reliable diagnostic tests for identifying the culprit drug.

Role of Oxidative Stress in Hypersensitivity Reactions to Sulfonamides.

Antimicrobial sulfonamides are important medications. However, their use is associated with major immune-mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions with a rate that ranges from 3% to 4% in the general population. The pathophysiology of sulfa-induced drug hypersensitivity reactions is not well understood, but accumulation of reactive metabolites (sulfamethoxazole [SMX] hydroxylamine [SMX-HA] and SMX N-nitrosamine [SMX-NO]) is thought to be a major factor.

Orthopedic Injuries in Pediatric Trauma.

Background: Trauma remains the leading cause of death in children, of which the majority of patients have orthopedic injuries. The range of injured bones is various, each requiring knowledge and expertise to appropriately manage in a timely fashion.

Objectives: The importance of a systematic approach to the pediatric polytrauma patient is paramount.

Predictable and Preventable: Historical and Current Efforts to Improve Child Injury Prevention.

Background: Childhood injuries are a global epidemic. Accidents resulting in childhood injury and death were first identified as a concern over a century ago. However, "accidents" leading to injury were not recognized as being predictable and preventable until more recently.