Skin reaction to inhaled tiotropium bromide: a case report.

Introduction: Systemic reactions to inhaled drugs are rare. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of generalized itching related to the use of tiotropium bromide, a long acting inhaled anti-cholinergic agent commonly used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Case Presentation: A 78-year-old Caucasian woman was referred to our facility for allergological evaluation.

Toxocariasis resulting in seeming allergy.

Toxocara canis is an intestinal nematode affecting dogs and cats that causes human infestations by ingestion of embryonated eggs excreted in dogs' faeces. Humans are transport hosts, in whom the larvae do not develop to adult worms, but may migrate to various tissues and organs, and survive for several years, giving rise to several clinical symptoms, which include allergy-like presentations. We report three cases presenting as dermatitis, rhinitis, asthma, and conjunctivitis which were diagnosed and unsuccessfully treated as allergy.

Incidence and characteristics of hospital-acquired pneumonia in a pulmonary rehabilitation setting.

Background: The incidence of Hospital Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) varies according to the setting. It is estimated to be approximately 0.5% to 1% in hospitalized subjects but higher in mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units.

[Cut-off level of glycosylated hemoglobin indicating the development of complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus].

Prevention of chronic complications is very important in the management of type 2 diabetes, and the availability of a laboratory test individuating at risk subjects should have a marked usefulness. This study sought by the method of ROC curves the cut-off of glycated haemoglobin discriminating the subjects with microvascular, neurologic and renal complications from those without. The cut-off was identified at a glycated haemoglobin level of 7.

Fluorescence-determined kinetics of plasma high oxidability in diabetic patients.

The peroxidative potential of whole plasma was studied in thirteen control subjects and twenty-three diabetic patients divided into two groups on the basis of their metabolic control, defined as good (n = 12) or poor (n = 11) according to the fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin and fructosamine levels. The amounts of thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) were determined before and after an exhaustive peroxidation induced by incubation with cupric sulfate; the kinetics of Cu-dependent plasma peroxidation, determined by the time course of endogenous fluorescence emission at 430 nm, were also evaluated. Our data indicate that in diabetic patients, and particularly in those with a long-lasting poor metabolic control, a significant increase in plasma susceptibility to peroxidative stress is evident only when we consider the lag-time of fluorescence emission in the course of Cu-induced plasma peroxidation.

[Effects of isosorbide-5-mononitrate on exercise capacity, prostacyclin synthesis, the renin-aldosterone axis and catecholamines in patients with cardiac insufficiency].

Isosorbide-5-mononitrate (IS-5-MN) is an active metabolite of isosorbide dinitrate with a longer plasma half life. Aim of the study was the evaluation of the effects of 40 mg/day of IS-5-MN on exercise capacity in patients with heart failure NYHA class II. After 1 week of wash-out, 10 patients with heart failure NYHA Class II, assumed 20 mg bid for 3 weeks.