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Background: Long-term exposure to anti-tuberculosis medication increases risk of adverse drug reactions and toxicity. The objective of this investigation was to determine factors associated with anti-tuberculosis adverse drug reactions in Lima, Peru, with special emphasis on MDR-TB medication, HIV infection, diabetes, age and tobacco use. Methodology and Results: A case-control study was performed using information from Peruvian TB Programme. A case was defined as having reported an anti-TB adverse drug reaction during 2005–2010 with appropriate notification on clinical records. Controls were defined as not having reported a side effect, receiving anti-TB therapy during the same time that the case had appeared. Crude, and age- and sex-adjusted models were calculated using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). A multivariable model was created to look for independent factors associated with side effect from anti-TB therapy. A total of 720 patients (144 cases and 576 controls) were analyzed. In our multivariable model, age, especially those over 40 years (OR = 3.93; 95%CI: 1.65–9.35), overweight/obesity (OR = 2.13; 95%CI: 1.17–3.89), anemia (OR = 2.10; IC95%: 1.13–3.92), MDR-TB medication (OR = 11.1; 95%CI: 6.29–19.6), and smoking (OR = 2.00; 95%CI: 1.03–3.87) were independently associated with adverse drug reactions. Conclusions: Old age, anemia, MDR-TB medication, overweight/obesity status, and smoking history are independent risk factors associated with anti-tuberculosis adverse drug reactions. Patients with these risk factors should be monitored during the anti-TB therapy. A comprehensive clinical history and additional medical exams, including hematocrit and HIV-ELISA, might be useful to identify these patients., Revisión por pares

A 37-year-old woman with history of Evans Syndrome with poor response to high-dose corticoid treatment presented to the emergency department with gastrointestinal and vaginal bleeding. The patient was later diagnosed with severe thrombocytopenia and a stage G1, well-differentiated gastric neuroendocrine tumor, confirmed by a biopsy. A total gastrectomy was performed to eradicate the tumor. After being treated with a total splenectomy for her Evans Syndrome with no clinical or laboratory improvement, she began regular treatment with octreotide on the basis of a possible hepatic metastasis. Days after the initiation of the octreotide, an increase in the platelet count was evidenced by laboratory findings, from 2,000 platelets/mm3 to 109,000 platelets/mm3 . Weeks later, the hepatic metastasis is discarded by a negative octreotide-body scan, and the octreotide treatment was interrupted. Immediately after the drug interruption, a progressive and evident descent in the platelet count was evidenced (4000 platelets/mm3 ). The present case report highlights the possible association between octreotide treatment and a severe thrombocytopenia resistant to conventional treatment., Revisión por pares

Introducción: Un tercio de la población mundial presenta una infección tuberculosa latente, con 9,4 millones de casos nuevos reportados en el 2009; los estudiantes de medicina tienen de 2 a 50 veces más probabilidad de adquirir la infección. Objetivos: Establecer la prevalencia de PPD positivo basal al inicio de la carrera médica y determinar la incidencia y los factores asociados a la conversión de PPD en alumnos de medicina. Materiales y Métodos: Análisis secundario de datos de una cohorte histórica (2007-2010) involucrando alumnos de medicina de una universidad privada en Perú. Se evaluó la conversión de PPD. Se aplicó un análisis de regresión binomial para cada variable de interés. Resultados: 707 estudiantes fueron seguidos, de ellos 219 (31%) fueron hombres. La prevalencia basal de PPD positivo fue 14,4%. Se encontró asociación significativa con el año de ingreso 2007-08 (p = 0,007) y antecedente de tuberculosis anterior (p = 0,02). Con un total de 822 personas-año, la incidencia de conversión fue de 2,92 por 100 personas-año (IC95%: 1,96-4,36). En el modelo bivariado, el año de ingreso a la carrera y el IMC > 25 kg/m2 estuvieron asociados con conversión de PPD. Sin embargo, en el modelo multivariado, sólo el año de ingreso mostró asociación estadísticamente significativa (RR = 2,53; IC95%: 1,11-5,76). Conclusiones: Existe una prevalencia basal elevada de infección latente en alumnos de medicina. La tasa de incidencia está dentro de los valores esperados y previamente reportados. Se recomienda prestar más atención a las medidas de bioseguridad y prevención en estudiantes de medicina., Revisión por pares