Vancomycin can cause two types of hypersensitivity reactions, the red
man syndrome and anaphylaxis. Red man syndrome has often been
associated with rapid infusion of the first dose of the drug. The aim of
this study was to investigate the haemodyn
amic changes that follow the
appearance of pruritus during vancomycin administration and
development of red man syndrome. We studied 50 patients scheduled for
coronary artery bypass surgery, and we compared data from patients who
exhibited pruritus with those from patients who did not. Before induction
of anaesthesia, vancomycin (15 mg/kg) was continuously infused at a
constant rate over 30 min. Haemodynamic profiles were recorded before;
during and after the beginning of vancomycin infusion.
Uremic Pruritus is one of the most common and frustrating symptom experience by patients with end-stage renal disease. Approximately 60% of dialysis patients experience pruritis, sometimes worse during the dialysis session.
The aim of this study w
as to determine the effect of gabapentin, 200 mg twice a week (after each hemodialysis session), on uremic pruritus.
Patients older than 18 years who have undergone hemodialysis for more than three months will be enrolled in this double-blind clinical trial.
The patients will be assigned to receive Gabapentin 200 mg following hemodialysis
( twice a week) for a period of four weeks, and after a washout week, they will receive the antihistamines for another four weeks.
The patients will be asked to evaluate the severity of their pruritus using a visual analogue scale (VAS).
Our results assured the efficacy of Gabapentin in the treatment of uremic pruritus, in comparison with Loratadine.
