Mapping the clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetic units operating in Spanish hospitals.

Objective: The goal of this article is to analyze the situation of  harmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics units in the pharmacy departments of  Spanish hospitals, evaluate their development both in the clinical and educational areas, and draw up a map reflecting their current status.  Method: A 29-item survey structured in five blocks was designed with general questions about the respondents' hospital and the clinical and educational activities carried out by their pharmacy department, in the fields of both pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics.

Results: Sixty-nine  hospitals answered the survey.

PEG-Interferon-α ribavirin-induced HCV viral clearance: a pharmacogenetic multicenter Spanish study.

Objective: Dual PEGylated interferon-α (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin therapy has been the main hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment of the last decade. Current direct-acting antiviral agents have improved the outcome of therapy but also have increased the cost and management complexity of treatment. The current study analyzes host genetics, viral and clinical predictors of sustained viral response (SVR) to dual PEG-IFN and ribavirin therapy in a representative Spanish population.

[Pharmacogenetic analysis of the absorption kinetics of cyclosporine in a population of Spanish cardiac transplant patients].

Objective: To determine how single nucleotide polymorphisms located on genes MDR1, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 affect the absorption kinetics of cyclosporine in cardiac transplant patients.

Method: We selected a sample of 30 adult patients having previously undergone a primary cardiac transplant and who had received cyclosporine as an immunosuppressant. During the first month after the transplant, we performed a pharmacokinetic study of each patient to determine values in the cyclosporine concentration area under the 12-hour curve, steady-state cyclosporine concentration, maximum cyclosporine concentration, and time to reach that concentration.

[Stability and in vitro activity of voriconazole eyedrops at a concentration of 3 microg/mL].

Objective: To assess the stability and activity of voriconazole 3 microg/mL eyedrops as prepared for use against amphotericin B- and fluconazole-resistant fungal endophthalmitis.

Method: Stability (concentration using UV-spectrophotometry; pH, osmolarity, and particle formation) and sterility were analyzed under various preservation conditions--room temperature (22-24 degrees C) or refrigerated (2-8 degrees C). The preparation's in vitro efficacy was analyzed using the standard National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards method for 30 days.

[Tacrolimus blood levels and incidence of graft rejection in heart transplantation].

Objective: To determine the relationship between pharmacokinetic parameters and clinical outcomes after heart transplantation and to determine the range of tacrolimus blood levels which provides the most effective protection against graft rejection. To study other factors that predict graft rejection.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcomes of all adult patients who received a heart transplant between January 2000 and October 2003 and had routine monitoring of tacrolimus trough levels at the time of scheduled endomyocardial biopsy.