Emesis control by aprepitant in children and adolescents with chemotherapy.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a feared adverse reaction during cancer treatment. Aprepitant has shown to be effective for CINV in adults, but little is known on its effect in pediatrics. So far, the drug is not licensed in this population.

Practical implications for the administration of 13-cis retinoic acid in pediatric oncology.

Children with high-risk neuroblastoma are treated with polychemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and even autologous stem-cell transplantation. On top of this complex treatment, most children also receive 13-cis retinoic acid as differentiation agent. As no suitable pharmaceutical formulation is available so far, there are often problems with the administration of the product in children.

Hemifacial paralysis in a child treated for leukemia: unusual side effect of omeprazole?

We report a hemifacial paralysis as an adverse drug reaction possibly related to the use of omeprazole in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We believe that this case, although very rare, is clinically significant and worth mentioning, owing to the frequent use of omeprazole in the oncology setting.

Interaction between methotrexate and omeprazole in an adolescent with leukemia: a case report.

We present a case of severe mucositis due to a drug-drug interaction between methotrexate (MTX) and omeprazole in an adolescent with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia (ALL). In view of the prevalence of MTX in many cytotoxic protocols, and the frequent use of omeprazole in the (ambulatory) oncology setting, we believe that this case-report is worth mentioning.

Infection risk related to the use of medicinal leeches.

Objective: To assess the incidence of postoperative wound infections related to treatment with medicinal leeches at Ghent University Hospital.

Method: A 2-year retrospective analysis of bacteriologic culture results of soft tissue infections in patients treated with medicinal leeches.

Results: Cultures of suspected wound infections were taken and susceptibility testing of isolates was performed on 17 of 47 patients (36.

Antifungal drugs and rational use of antifungals in treating invasive aspergillosis: the role of the hospital pharmacist.

Aim: This review discusses the most common used antifungal agents in the treatment of invasive fungal infections. In addition, guidelines for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis, as used in the Ghent University Hospital, are described. Moreover, the importance of determining the effectiveness of antifungal therapy as well as the potential role of the hospital pharmacist in the management of this infection is highlighted.

Enzymatic differentiation of Candida parapsilosis from other Candida spp. in a membrane filtration test.

A previously reported enzyme assay on a membrane filter using 4-methylumbelliferyl (4-MU)-N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminide, -phosphate and -pyrophosphate as substrates for the differentiation of four Candida spp. has been extended to Candida parapsilosis. The substrate 4-MU-beta-D-glucoside was hydrolyzed by 28 test strains of this species but to a variable extent by seven other yeasts also.

Prevalence of vulvovaginal candidiasis and susceptibility to fluconazole in women.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of vaginal colonization by Candida with the use of a rapid detection method, to examine the determinants of vaginal candidiasis, and to evaluate susceptibility for fluconazole.

Study Design: Vaginal swabs were collected from unselected women at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A differentiation was made between patients with a positive and a negative potassium hydroxide examination.

Colonization of voice prostheses by albicans and non-albicans Candida species.

Objectives: The purposes of the study were to assess the colonization of tracheoesophageal voice prostheses by albicans and non-albicans Candida species and to determine their susceptibility for three antimycotics that are frequently used for prophylaxis or treatment of oral candidiasis (i.e., miconazole, fluconazole, and nystatin).