Association of clozapine and norclozapine levels with patient and therapy characteristics-focus on interaction with valproic acid.

Purpose: The goal of the study was to examine clozapine (CLZ) and norclozapine (NCLZ) therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) data and associated sources of pharmacokinetic variability, particularly the impact of valproic acid (VPA) use.

Methods: This study included 126 patients with psychiatric disorders on mono- or co-therapy with CLZ. Patients' data during routine TDM were collected retrospectively from clinical records.

Integrating moving average control procedures into the risk-based quality control plan in small-volume medical laboratories.

Introduction: The modern approach to quality control (QC) in medical laboratories implies the development of a risk-based control plan. This paper aims to develop a risk-based QC plan for a laboratory with a small daily testing volume and to integrate the already optimized moving average (MA) control procedures into this plan.

Materials And Methods: A multistage bracketed QC plan for ten clinical chemistry analytes was made using a Westgard QC frequency calculator.

Moving average procedures as an additional tool for real-time analytical quality control: challenges and opportunities of implementation in small-volume medical laboratories.

Introduction: Moving average (MA) is one possible way to use patient results for analytical quality control in medical laboratories. The aims of this study were to: (1) implement previously optimized MA procedures for 10 clinical chemistry analytes into the laboratory information system (LIS); (2) monitor their performance as a real-time quality control tool, and (3) define an algorithm for MA alarm management in a small-volume laboratory to suit the specific laboratory.

Materials And Methods: Moving average alarms were monitored and analysed over a period of 6 months on all patient results (total of 73,059) obtained for 10 clinical chemistry parameters.

Death due to consumption of ibogaine: case report.

Ibogaine is a psychotropic indole alkaloid extracted from the roots of the Tabernanthe iboga shrub from the Apocynaceae family. Depending on the taken dose, it can lead to stimulant effects, euphoria, visual and auditory hallucinations, along with auditory, olfactory, and gustatory synesthesia. In addition to its historical usage in spiritual rituals of African tribes, these days iboga extract presents a prohibited, alternative drug widely used as a part of addiction treatment.

Effect of urine adulterants on commercial drug abuse screening test strip results.

Immunochromatographic strips for urine drug screening tests (UDSTs) are common and very suitable for drug abuse monitoring, but are also highly susceptible to adulterants kept in the household, which can significantly alter test results. The aim of this study was to see how some of these common adulterants affect UDST results in practice and whether they can be detected by sample validity tests with pH and URIT 11G test strips. To this end we added household chemicals (acids, alkalis, oxidizing agents, surfactants, and miscellaneous substances) to urine samples positive for amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), tetrahydrocannabinol, heroin, cocaine, or benzodiazepines (diazepam or alprazolam) and tested them with one-component immunochromatographic UDST strips.

Optimizing moving average control procedures for small-volume laboratories: can it be done?

Introduction: Moving average (MA) means calculating the average value from a set of patient results and further using that value for analytical quality control purposes. The aim of this study was to examine whether the selection, optimization and validation of MA procedures can be performed using the already described bias detection simulation method and whether it is possible to select appropriate MA procedures for a laboratory with a small daily testing volume.

Materials And Methods: The study was done on four analytes: creatinine, potassium, sodium and albumin.

Rhamnolipid inspired lipopeptides effective in preventing adhesion and biofilm formation of Candida albicans.

Rhamnolipids are biodegradable low toxic biosurfactants which exert antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties. They have attracted much attention recently due to potential applications in areas of bioremediation, therapeutics, cosmetics and agriculture, however, the full potential of these versatile molecules is yet to be explored. Based on the facts that many naturally occurring lipopeptides are potent antimicrobials, our study aimed to explore the potential of replacing rhamnose in rhamnolipids with amino acids thus creating lipopeptides that would mimic or enhance properties of the parent molecule.

Sodium nitrite food poisoning in one family.

Sodium nitrite is used as a coloring agent or preservative in food, as well as an antimicrobial agent in meat and fish and some cheeses. In high amounts it can be toxic for humans, causing methemoglobinemia. This is an unusual and potentially fatal condition in which hemoglobin is oxidized to methemoglobin (MHb), reducing the amount of oxygen that is released from hemoglobin, similar to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Laboratory Information System - Where are we Today?

Wider implementation of laboratory information systems (LIS) in clinical laboratories in Serbia has been initiated ten years ago. The first LIS in the Railway Health Care Institute has been implemented nine years ago. Before the LIS was initiated, manual admission procedures limited daily output of patients.

The influence of alcohol on pedestrians: A different approach to the effectiveness of the new traffic safety law.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the new traffic safety law on pedestrian mortality by exploring hazardous behaviors of pedestrians in terms of alcohol use and blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Methods: A retrospective autopsy study was performed, covering a 7-year period (from 2006 to 2012), including cases of fatally injured pedestrians who died at the scene of the incident. Blood samples obtained from the femoral vein during autopsy were analyzed for BAC.

The effects of a new traffic safety law in the Republic of Serbia on driving under the influence of alcohol.

The aim of the study presented here has been to see what the effects of the new traffic safety law are, 2 years into its initial implementation, on driving under the influence of alcohol. Until the end of 2009, the legal limit for blood concentration for drivers in Serbia was 0.5g/l; however, the new traffic safety law stipulates the new limit to be 0.