J Toxicol Env Heal A
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J Toxicol Env Heal A · Sep 2006
Aripiprazole exposures reported to Texas poison control centers during 2002-2004.
Aripiprazole is an oral atypical antipsychotic drug used in the treatment of schizophrenia and potentially other behavior disorders. The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiology of aripiprazole exposures reported to Texas poison control centers. Human aripiprazole exposures reported to six Texas poison control centers were identified and comparisons were made between isolated and nonisolated cases with respect to various demographic and clinical factors. ⋯ The adverse clinical effects associated with isolated aripiprazole exposures were mainly neurological, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal, with the most frequently reported adverse clinical effect being drowsiness or lethargy. The most commonly reported treatments for isolated aripiprazole exposures were single dose of activated charcoal, cathartic, intravenous fluids, dilution, lavage, and antihistamines. In conclusion, isolated and nonisolated aripiprazole exposures varied with respect to patient age, exposure reason, management site, and clinical outcome.
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J Toxicol Env Heal A · May 2006
Valdecoxib exposures reported to Texas poison centers during 2002-2004.
Valdecoxib is a drug possessing anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and acts by binding to cyclo-oxygenase-2. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of valdecoxib exposures reported to Texas poison centers. Human valdecoxib exposures reported to six Texas poison centers were identified and comparisons were made between isolated and nonisolated cases with respect to various demographic and clinical factors. ⋯ Among isolated valdecoxib exposures, no particular clinical effect was reported in more than five cases. Isolated and nonisolated valdecoxib exposures varied with respect to patient gender and age, exposure reason, and clinical outcome. Adverse effects for isolated valdecoxib exposure involved only a small portion of patients that reported to the Texas poison control centers.
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J Toxicol Env Heal A · Apr 2006
Review Multicenter StudyAn overview of the North American residential radon and lung cancer case-control studies.
Lung cancer has held the distinction as the most common cancer type worldwide since 1985 (Parkin et al., 1993). Recent estimates suggest that lung cancer accounted for 1.2 million deaths worldwide in 2002, which represents 17.6% of the global cancer deaths (Parkin et al., 2005). During 2002, the highest lung cancer rates for men worldwide reportedly occurred in North America and Eastern Europe, whereas the highest rates in females occurred in North America and Northern Europe (Parkin et al., 2005). ⋯ Because the Iowa study calculated actual measures of exposure (concentration x time), its exposures estimates are presented in the form WLM(5-19) (Field et al., 2000a). WLM(5-19) represents the working level months for exposures that occurred 5-19 yr prior to diagnosis for cases or time of interview for control. Eleven WLM(5-19) is approximately equivalent to an average residential radon exposure of 4 pCi/L for 15 yr, assuming a 70% home occupancy.
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Radon concentration alone may not be an adequate surrogate to measure for lung cancer risk in all residential radon epidemiologic lung cancer studies. The dose delivered to the lungs per unit radon exposure can vary significantly with exposure conditions. These dose-effectiveness variations can be comparable to spatial and temporal factor variations in many situations. New technologies that use surface-deposited and implanted radon progeny activities make more accurate dose estimates available for future epidemiologic studies.
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J Toxicol Env Heal A · Apr 2006
Historical ArticleResidential radon and lung cancer: end of the story?
The earliest evidence of increased lung cancer risk associated with radon came largely from studies of highly exposed underground miners. In the United States, concerns about residential exposures became prominent in the early 1980s with the identification of the Watras home, which had remarkably elevated radon concentrations. By then, the problem of indoor radon was already recognized in Europe and the first epidemiological studies on indoor radon had been reported. ⋯ National Research Council Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VI) weighed the scientific evidence available at that time on this issue and concluded that residential radon was an important contributor to the lung cancer burden and that risks were appropriately estimated by a linear nonthreshold model. Since individual case-control studies have not provided consistent direct evidence of excess lung cancer risk at residential exposure levels, combined analyses of residential radon studies have been undertaken in both North America and Europe. These combined analyses, including the North American pooled analysis described in this issue, represent an important complement to the findings of the miner studies and further support the linear no-threshold model for cancer risk adopted by the BEIR VI Committee and other groups.