METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among PLWH who developed cADRs presenting to our dermatology clinic from June 2020 to December 2020. The Naranjo scale was used for drug causality assessment.
RESULTS: A total of 78 PLWH were recruited with a male-to-female ratio of 12:1. The maculopapular eruption was the commonest type of cADRs (75.6%), followed by drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) (15.4%). SCAR is defined as a potentially life-threatening, immunologically mediated, drug-induced disease, accounting for 17.9% of the cases. Most of the patients were on antiretroviral therapy (ART) (85.9%), with efavirenz + tenofovir/emtricitabine being the most common combination (80.6%). Efavirenz (51.3%) was the main culprit drug implicated, followed by trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (23.1%) and nevirapine (11.5%). CD4 T-cell count <100 cells/μL (p = 0.006) was the independent risk factor for SCAR. Most cases had probable causal relationships with the culprit drugs (84.6%) and were not preventable (93.6%).
CONCLUSIONS: The commonest cADR seen in PLWH was maculopapular eruption, while efavirenz, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and nevirapine were the three main implicated drugs. Most of the cases had probable drug causality and were not preventable. PLWH with CD4 count <100 cells/μL were particularly at risk of developing SCAR. Overall, this study showed that immune suppression and polypharmacy as a consequence of opportunistic infection prophylaxis are important factors contributing to the increased risk of ADRs among PLWH.
RESULTS: Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass spectrophotometry analysis of the TELSE tablet confirmed the presence of trimethoprim as the active compound. The TELSE tablet-treated females produced significant numbers of embryos with exencephaly (n = 8, 36.4%, *P trimethoprim once. The use of trimethoprim, a folic acid antagonist, peri-conceptionally increased the risk of exencephaly in the mouse.
Methods: Four ampoules of intravenous co-trimoxazole were injected into an infusion bag containing either 480 (1:25 v/v), 380 (1:20 v/v), 280 (1:15 v/v) or 180 (1:10 v/v) mL of glucose 5% solution. Three bags for each dilution (total 12 bags) were prepared and stored at room temperature. An aliquot was withdrawn immediately (at 0 hour) and after 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours of storage for high-performance liquid-chromatography (HPLC) analysis, and additional samples were withdrawn every half an hour for microscopic examination. Each sample was analysed for the concentration of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole using a stability indicating HPLC method. Samples were assessed for pH, change in colour (visually) and for particle content (microscopically) immediately after preparation and on each time of analysis.
Results: Intravenous co-trimoxazole at 1:25, 1:20, 1:15 and 1:10 v/v retained more than 98% of the initial concentration of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole for 4 hours. There was no major change in pH at time zero and at various time points. Microscopically, no particles were detected for at least 4 hours and 2 hours when intravenous co-trimoxazole was diluted at 1:25 or 1:20 and 1:15 v/v, respectively. More than 1200 particles/mL were detected after 2.5 hours of storage when intravenous co-trimoxazole was diluted at 1:15 v/v.
Conclusions: Intravenous co-trimoxazole is stable over a period of 4 hours when diluted with 380 mL of glucose 5% solution (1:20 v/v) and for 2 hours when diluted with 280 mL glucose 5% solution (1:15 v/v).