Are preventive drugs preventive enough? A study of patients' expectation of benefit from preventive drugs

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to find the threshold of benefit for a hypothetical cholesterol-lowering drug below which the subject would not be prepared to take the drug. We also looked at whether proximity to the target event (myocardial infarction) and the subjects' views on drug taking affected this threshold.

DESIGN

We studied 307 subjects using a written questionnaire and interview. Group 1 (102 subjects) had just been discharged from the coronary care unit. Group 2 (105 subjects) were taking cardio-protective drugs but had no recent history of myocardial infarction. Group 3 (100 subjects) had no history of myocardial infarction and were taking no cardio-protective drugs.

RESULTS

Median values for the threshold of benefit below which the subject would not take the preventive drug were 20%, 20%, and 30% absolute risk reduction for Groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Median values for expectation of average prolongation of life were 12, 12 and 18 months respectively. Only 27% of subjects would take a drug offering 5% or less absolute risk reduction over five years. Subjects' views on medicinal drug taking in general and proximity to the target event were predictors of the acceptance of preventive drugs. Eighty percent of subjects wished to be told the numerical benefit of a preventive drug before starting on it.

CONCLUSION

For the majority, the expectation of benefit from a preventive drug is higher than the actual benefit provided by current drug strategies. There is a tension between the patient's right to know about the chance of benefiting from a preventive drug and the likely reduction in uptake if they are so informed.

Lansoprazole is superior to ranitidine as maintenance treatment for the prevention of duodenal ulcer relapse

AIM

To compare lansoprazole 30 mg once daily, lansoprazole 15 mg once daily and ranitidine 150 mg once nightly in the prevention of duodenal ulcer relapse in patients whose duodenal ulcers had been previously healed with lansoprazole 30 mg once daily or ranitidine 300 mg nightly.

METHODS

A double-blind, parallel group, randomized multicentre study conducted in 33 centres in the UK, Eire, Sweden and Australia. Two hundred and nineteen patients with a duodenal ulcer were randomized to receive lansoprazole 30 mg and 217 to receive ranitidine 300 mg for 8 weeks. Patients were then re-randomized to receive lansoprazole 30 mg (122 patients), lansoprazole 15 mg (121 patients) or ranitidine 150 mg (116 patients) for 12 months. All patients had an endoscopically-proven duodenal ulcer at baseline and were considered suitable for long-term maintenance therapy to prevent relapse.

RESULTS

Significantly more patients were healed on lansoprazole (98%) compared to ranitidine (89%) (P < 0.001, Fisher's exact test). Lansoprazole provided more rapid symptom relief than ranitidine. Lansoprazole 30 mg and lansoprazole 15 mg increased the probability of not relapsing in comparison to ranitidine (P = 0.001 and 0.06, respectively, life-table analysis). Relapse rates over the 12 months were lower in the lansoprazole treatment groups (lansoprazole 30 mg, 5%; lansoprazole 15 mg, 12%; and ranitidine, 21%; lansoprazole 30 mg vs. ranitidine 150 mg, P = 0.002). Symptoms were well controlled in both groups during the maintenance phase. All treatments were well tolerated with no major differences seen in adverse event profiles between treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Both doses of lansoprazole (30 mg and 15 mg) were superior to ranitidine 150 mg in the prevention of duodenal ulcer relapse. Lansoprazole was superior to ranitidine in terms of symptom control and duodenal ulcer healing. Both treatments were well tolerated.

The one-stop dyspepsia clinic--an alternative to open-access endoscopy for patients with dyspepsia

The most sensitive investigative tool for the upper gastrointestinal tract is endoscopy, and many gastroenterologists offer an open-access endoscopy service to general practitioners. However, for patients with dyspepsia, endoscopy is not always the most appropriate initial investigation, and the one-stop dyspepsia clinic allows for different approaches. We have audited, over one year, the management and outcomes of patients attending a one-stop dyspepsia clinic. All patients seen in the clinic were included, and for those not endoscoped the notes were reviewed one year after the end of the study to check for reattendances and diagnoses originally missed. Patients' and general practitioners' views of the service were assessed by questionnaire. 485 patients were seen, of whom 301 (62%) were endoscoped at first attendance. In 66 patients (14%), endoscopy was deemed inappropriate and only one of these returned subsequently for endoscopy. 118 patients (24%) were symptom-free when seen in the clinic and were asked to telephone for an appointment if and when symptoms recurred; half of these returned and were endoscoped. Oesophagitis and duodenal ulcer were significantly more common in this 'telephone endoscopy' group than in those endoscoped straight from the clinic. Overall, 25% of patients referred were not endoscoped. Important additional diagnoses were made from the clinic consultation. General practitioners and patients valued the system, in particular the telephone endoscopy service. 84% of general practitioners said they would prefer the one-stop dyspepsia clinic to open-access endoscopy.

Successful medical treatment of peptic pyloric stenosis: Dr Sippy revisited

BACKGROUND

Surgery and balloon dilatation are perceived by many as the principal treatments for peptic pyloric stenosis. We questioned whether, with the availability of modern acid suppressant treatment, this was still appropriate or whether patients could be managed with medical treatment alone.

METHODS

Seventeen consecutive patients with peptic pyloric stenosis were treated with endoscopic gastric drainage, followed by oral omeprazole in 15 or cimetidine in two. Gastric emptying half times for solids and liquids were assessed in 11 of the 17 patients when they had become asymptomatic.

RESULTS

Endoscopic drainage and medical treatment successfully relieved symptoms in all 17 patients, although the gastric emptying studies in 11 patients still showed prolongation in eight. Symptoms resolved completely after a mean of 28 days. Five patients relapsed when changed from omeprazole to cimetidine treatment, but all responded to re-starting omeprazole. Four patients remain well on cimetidine alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical treatment preceded by endoscopic gastric drainage was effective in all patients in this series and may be the preferred choice of treatment in patients with pyloric stenosis.

Is respiratory sinus arrhythmia present in atrial fibrillation? A study using two quantitative methods

Two quantitative techniques have been evaluated to examine whether respiratory sinus arrhythmia can be detected in atrial fibrillation. Cyclical changes in heart rate during deep breathing indicating respiratory sinus arrhythmia were seen in 11/15 control patients, but only 1/44 patients with atrial fibrillation. Power spectrum analysis suggested that more subtle variations in heart rate with breathing may be present in some patients with atrial fibrillation where it was not detectable by simpler techniques. These results support the hypothesis that although respiratory sinus arrhythmia is not detectable in atrial fibrillation by conventional means, there may still be some mediation of heart rate either by vagal or extravagal mechanisms.

Open access endoscopy: is the lost outpatient clinic of value?

To test the value of an outpatient visit in patients with dyspepsia, 79 patients considered suitable for open access endoscopy by their general practitioners were instead seen in the medical outpatient clinic first. In 35 patients immediate endoscopy was seen as an inappropriate investigation and 23 of these were spared endoscopy. In 11 patients important extra diagnoses were made in the clinic which would have been delayed or missed had the patients been sent straight for open access endoscopy. Sixty-eight per cent of patients, when asked by questionnaire, said they preferred to be seen in the clinic first rather than come for open access endoscopy. These results lend support to the traditional medical clinic appointment followed by endoscopy if and when appropriate rather than the open access endoscopy system.

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome: a missed diagnosis?

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is an idiosyncratic reaction to major tranquilizer drugs characterised by hyperpyrexia, extrapyramidal disorders and altered consciousness. First described in 1968 by Delay and Deniker, early case reports suggested a mortality of between 20 and 30%. Though the syndrome is now more widely recognised, the diversity of its clinical features may not always be appreciated and may lead to diagnostic confusion with other, more common, disorders. We report on two severe cases of NMS: in the first the diagnosis was initially thought to be sepsis from a urinary tract infection, and in the second the primary clinical diagnosis was of a mid brain infarction.

A prospective randomised controlled trial of tamoxifen and cyproterone acetate in pancreatic carcinoma

In a prospective controlled clinical trial, 108 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma were randomly allocated to receive tamoxifen 20 mg b.d., cyproteron acetate 100 mg t.d.s. or no active treatment. The median survival of those receiving tamoxifen was longer than either of the other two groups (5.25 compared to 4.25 and 3 months, respectively) but this difference did not achieve statistical significance. Cox regression analysis of 12 clinical and biochemical features showed that, for the entire group of patients, survival was significantly longer in younger patients, those undergoing surgical bypass and those with better initial performance status. However, even when adjustment was made to allow for the distribution of these prognostic variables within the three groups, the difference in survival still did not achieve statistical significance. No side-effects attributable to treatment was observed.

Neuropathy and fatal hepatitis in a patient receiving amiodarone

Muscle weakness, neuropathy, and transient rises in hepatic enzyme activity have been reported with the use of the antiarrhythmic agent amiodarone. A 68 year old teetotaller with normal liver function was given amiodarone for resistant supraventricular arrhythmias. He presented 19 months later with vomiting, muscle weakness and wasting, sensory neuropathy, and hepatomegaly. Liver biopsy showed fibrosis and the presence of hyaline. The amiodarone was withdrawn. Three months later he developed ascites. Oesophageal varices were found and he later died. The liver showed micronodular cirrhosis. The large volume of distribution and long half life of amiodarone may explain the persistence of toxicity, which may have been aggravated by simultaneously administered doxepin in this case. Amiodarone should be withdrawn if abnormal liver function or neuropathy develops.

Splenic atrophy in adult coeliac disease: is it reversible?

A study of splenic function in 28 patients with adult coeliac disease showed no significant correlation between the half life of heat-damaged red cells and either the duration of pre-treatment exposure to gluten or the length of time on a gluten free diet. A significant correlation was found between splenic size and duration of treatment; those patients who had been taking a gluten free diet for the longest time had the smallest spleens. Blood films from 11 of these 28 patients taken before treatment with a gluten free diet were compared with those taken between two and 15 years after the start of treatment. There was no tendency for the hyposplenic changes to regress. In the majority, the changes became more prominent despite strict adherence to the gluten free diet. These findings suggest that splenic atrophy in adult coeliac disease is not reversed by treatment with a gluten free diet and is unlikely to be related to the state of the jejunal mucosa or the duration of initial exposure to gluten.

Oesophageal ulceration due to emepronium bromide

Four cases of oesophageal damage associated with ingestion of the urinary anti-spasmodic agent emepronium bromide are described. All the patients presented with severe retrosternal pain worsened by swallowing food and drink, and in every case fibre-optic endoscopy revealed ulceration of the midoesophagus. Symptoms disappeared rapidly following cessation of emepromium bromide therapy. The means whereby this agent might injure oseophageal mucosa are discussed.

Intracranial pressure in pigs with surgically induced acute liver failure

Cerebral edema has now been noted to occur frequently in patients dying of fulminant hepatic failure. In the present study, intracranial pressure was monitored in an animal model of acute liver failure. Acute liver failure was induced surgically by hepatic devascularization. Serial monitoring of the electroencephalogram revealed progressive slowing of the frequency with decreasing amplitude. Elevation of the blood ammonia was also observed from baseline values of 64 +/- 12 SE to 744 +/- 97 mumol/liter. Monitoring of the intracranial pressure with a subdural pressure transducer demonstrated a progressive and reproducible rise from 12.8 +/- 2.5 mm Hg immediately after the operation to a mean value of 51.6 +/- 11.8 mm Hg just before death 6--12 hr later. At autopsy, the brains of the test animals were found to be swollen with flattened cortical gyri. In the control animals, intracranial pressure rose slightly but returned toward normal levels (8.0 +/- 2.5 mm Hg) 8 hr after laparotomy and remained normal until their death. There was a statistically significant difference between intracranial pressure levels of the test animals and those of the controls (P less than 0.01). Intravenous methylprednisolone (2.0 g initially followed by 0.5 g every 2 hr) administered immediately before and after hepatic devascularization prevented rises in intracranial pressure but had no effect when given 4 hr after operation. The early and progressive increase in intracranial pressure was an unexpected finding, and an assessment of such a sequence in patients with fulminant hepatic failure is currently in progress.

Liver disease as presenting manifestation of Hodgkin's disease

Six patients who were referred to the liver unit on account of jaundice are described. A different initial diagnosis has been made in each case, these being fulminant hepatic failure, severe hepatitis with renal failure, toxoplasma hepatitis, extrahepatic obstruction, sclerosing cholangitis, and liver abscess. After delays of four weeks to 12 months from the time of first symptoms all six patients were eventually found to have advanced Hodgkin's disease (stage 4). In four patients the diagnosis was made during life, but in two only at autopsy. In four lymphoma tissue was finally demonstrable in the liver, but in two liver biopsy showed only minor non-specific changes despite grossly abnormal liver function tests. Three of the six patients were treated with chemotherapy, and two of these recovered sufficiently to leave hospital. With the encouraging survival figures now being obtained in Hodgkin's disease, an awareness of the varied hepatic manifestations of the disease may allow treatment to be instituted at an earlier stage.

Effects of cerebral oedema and arterial hypotension on cerebral blood flow in an animal model of hepatic failure

The effects of arterial hypotension and a raised intracranial pressure on cerebral blood flow (CBF) have been investigated in an animal model of hepatic failure. Arterial hypotension was associated with a fall in CBF in the animals with liver failure but not in the controls. Significant differences in mean CBF between the two groups of animals could be demonstrated when the systolic blood pressure was in the 30-60, 60-90, and 90-120 mmHg range, but not in the 120-150 mmHg range. A raised intracranial pressure also resulted in a fall in CBF in the animals with liver failure, and a significant difference could be demonstrated between the two groups when the intracranial pressure was in the 20-40 mmHg range but not in the 0-20 mmHg range. Furthermore, in the animals with liver failure the cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen (CMRO(2)) fell as the CBF fell, there being a highly significant correlation between these two parameters. In the controls no such relation existed. Treatment with neither charcoal haemoperfusion nor high dose corticosteroids affected the fall in cerebral blood flow that occurred during arterial hypotension in the animals with liver failure. Corticosteroids, however, did reduce the fall in cerebral blood flow associated with a high intracranial pressure. These results suggest a disruption of the cerebral circulatory responses in hepatic failure. They also raise the possibility that CMRO(2) and cerebral blood flow may be maintained at normal levels in hepatic encephalopathy if cerebral oedema and arterial hypotension can be prevented.

Continuous bipolar recording of the EEG in patients with fulminant hepatic failure

The experience gained from continuous bipolar recordings of the EEG in 20 patients with fulminant hepatic failure is described. In most cases the recordings obtained were of good quality and allowed the progression of the disease to be more accurately followed. In six patients, a dramatic change in the EEG as associated with a sudden deterioration in the patients' clinical condition and in four of these patients treatment was instituted more promptly than would have been possible had no EEG monitor been available. In addition to its use as a non-invasive patient monitor, continuous EEG monitoring may be useful in establishing the relation between EEG appearance, raised intracranial pressure, and sudden changes in neurological signs in patients with fulminant hepatic failure.

Incidence and pathophysiology of pulmonary edema in fulminant hepatic failure

Thirty-seven of 100 consecutive patients with fulminant hepatic failure had clinical and radiological evidence of pulmonary edema. None of them had clinical evidence of left heart failure, and the pulmonary artery wedge pressure measured in 12 patients was normal. Similarly, there was no evidence to incriminate renal failure, endotoxemia, or hypoalbuminemia. However, there was a significantly higher incidence of pulmonary edema in patients with cerebral edema, suggesting either a central origin for the pulmonary edema or common factors predisposing to edema in both sites. An additional local factor may have been the presence of intrapulmonary vasodilatation. Detailed isotope studies in 11 patients showed a significantly increased pulmonary extravascular water volume in the patients with pulmonary edema which was in keeping with the severity of the radiological changes. Although the over-all mortality was higher in those patients with pulmonary edema than in those without, the difference was not significant, and early ventilation with positive and expiratory pressure achieved adequate oxygenation in all but 3 patients.

Pathophysiology of hypotension in patients with fulminant hepatic failure

Studies on the incidence and pathophysiology of hypotension in fulminant hepatic failure showed that 82 out of 94 patients developed arterial hypotension with a systolic blood pressure of less than 80 mmHg. Such episodes accounted for 16% of the total time spent in grade IV coma. Factors such as haemorrhage, cardiac or respiratory abnormalities, extracorporeal perfusion, or hypotension which occurred during the terminal stages of the illness, could be implicated for only 40% of this time, leaving 60% as unexplained. Further investigation of these unexplained factors showed that peripheral vasodilatation rather than primary heart failure was responsible, and in all but three patients construction of ventricular function curves showed a normal ventricular response to volume expansion with a corresponding increase in blood pressure. A small, but significant, slowing of the heart rate occurred during these periods of unexplained hypotension. This, together with the association that was found between the occurrence of hypotension and cerebral oedema with coning, suggests that central vasomotor depression may be important in its pathogenesis.

Serum octopamine, coma, and charcoal haemoperfusion in fulminant hepatic failure

Serum octopamine levels were significantly higher in twenty patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) during the first 48 h of grade IV coma than in health control subjects (3.38 +/- 0.20 ng/ml and 1.75 +/- 0.19 ng/ml respectively, P less than 0.001). Serial measurements in five patients who died without regaining consciousness showed serum octopamine to remain raised, and concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid at death reflected serum levels. In five patients who regained consciousness, improvement in encephalopathy was associated with a significant reduction in serum octopamine. Renal failure in patients with FHF was found to contribute to raised serum octopamine but could not alone account for the observed levels. Patients given neomycin therapy did not have significantly lower serum octopamine levels than an untreated group. There was, however, a significant correlation between elevated serum octopamine and the occurrence of gestrointestinal bleeding during the previous 24 h. Charcoal haemoperfusion did not appreciably reduce serum octopamine levels.

Treatment of fulminant hepatic failure by polyacrylonitrile-membrane haemodialysis

24 patients with fulminant hepatic failure who had deteriorated to grade-IV coma were treated by repeated periods of haemodialysis with a polyacrylonitrile membrane. 9 patients fully recovered consciousness, and 8 (33%) survived to leave hospitals. These results are to be compared with those of conservative management alone (15% survival in 53 cases) and those obtained initially with charcoal haemo-perfusion (38%). Of the 16 treatment failures, cerebral oedema was found at necropsy in 13 (18%). Whether this would have been less of problem if treatment had been started earlier in the course of the illness remains to be determined.

The role of the false neurotransmitter octopamine in the hypotension of fulminant hepatic failure

1. An investigation was carried out into the mechanism of unexplained hypotension in patients with fulminant hepatic failure. The cardiac output and peripheral resistance were compared in normotensive and hypotensive patients. In addition, the serum concentration of the false neurotransmitter octopamine and the pressor response to noradrenaline, and to the indirectly acting sympathomimetic agent tyramine, were measured in hypotensive and normotensive patients with fulminant hepatic failure and in healthy subjects. 2. The cardiac output and the peripheral resistance were decreased in the hypotensive patients, and their mean heart rate was slower than in the normotensive patients. Although the serum octopamine concentration was significantly elevated in the patients compared with the control subjects, the highest octopamine concentrations were unexpectedly found in the normotensive patients and a significant positive correlation could be demonstrated between the resting blood pressure and the serum octopamine concentration. The pressor response to tyramine and noradrenaline were similar in the hypotensive patients, the normotensive patients and control subjects. 3. These results suggest that neither increased serum concentrations of the false neurotransmitter octopamine, nor end-organ insensitivity to released noradrenaline are responsible for the hypotension. A more likely explanation is toxic depression of the vasomotor centre. The opening of peripheral arteriovenous shunts, possibly as a result of endotoxaemia, might be an additional factor.

Acute liver failure. Experience in a special unit

Acute liver failure involves disturbances of all major organ systems. The pathophysiology of these disturbances are reviewed and details of management for each system is discussed in clinical work in a special Liver Failure Unit is used to derive principles of treatment, and the use of extracorporeal charcoal haemoperfusion is outlined.

Microglioma with paraproteinaemia

A case is reported in which a solitary intracerebral tumour of lymphoreticular cells (microglioma, reticulum cell sarcoma) was associated with the presence of a serum paraprotein. Extensive investigation failed to show any evidence of extracerebral reticulosis. Response of the paraprotein to treatment of the tumour is described.