Background: Gingival enlargement is one of the side effects associated with the administration of phenytoin. The mechanism by which phenytoin induces gingival enlargement is not well understood. This ...study was conducted to investigate the relationship between plasma and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) phenytoin concentrations and the degree of gingival overgrowth in patients with similar gingival and plaque indices and also to determine the risk factors for gingival enlargement.
Methods: Eighteen patients taking phenytoin in regular doses ≥6 months prior to the investigation participated in the study. Gingival enlargement was evaluated with two indices to score vertical and horizontal overgrowth. The gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), gingival bleeding time index (GBTI), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were also evaluated. GCF and plasma phenytoin concentrations were determined by using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Results: There was no significant difference between responders and non‐responders for PD, CAL, PI, GI, and GBTI. Phenytoin was detected in all of the GCF and plasma samples using the HPLC analysis method. The mean concentration of phenytoin in GCF was significantly greater than the concentration of phenytoin in plasma. No significant difference was observed for the concentration of GCF phenytoin between responders and non‐responders. However, the concentration of plasma phenytoin was significantly higher in responders than non‐responders.
Conclusion: This study showed that plasma phenytoin level appeared to be a risk factor for phenytoin‐induced gingival overgrowth.
Hydatid disease is endemic in many areas of the world, where it is an important public health problem. The aim of this study was to describe a series of patients with atypically located primary ...hydatid disease, accompanied by a literature review.
Six male and four female patients with atypically located hydatid cysts who presented to the Kars State Hospital between September 2004 and March 2008 were evaluated. The mean age was 42.5 years (range 17-72 years). Hydatid cysts were identified by using a combination of serology tests, ultrasonography, and computed tomography (CT).
Six of the patients underwent surgical treatment. Three patients (two with pericardial hydatid involvement and one with pancreatic involvement) were sent to a tertiary medical center for surgery, and one patient died from cardiac and renal failure two days after diagnosis.
Although this disease is seen most often in the liver and lungs, it can be found in any part of the body. Hydatid disease must be considered in the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions, especially in patients who have spent time in endemic areas.
Animal-related injury is a serious health problem for people living in rural areas. This type of injury could be of great consequence and life-threatening. There are insufficient data regarding this ...issue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the causes and treatment outcomes of large animal injuries. We reviewed the medical records of 157 patients with large animal-related injuries in a State Hospital in Northeastern Turkey, between September 2004 and April 2007. Demographic and etiological characteristics of patients and injury and outcome data were analyzed. A total of 157 patients were included in the study. One hundred and thirty-two (84.1 %) of them were male and 25 (15.9 %) female. The mean age of patients was 29.1 years (range 3–83 years). One hundred and twelve patients (71.3 %) had horse-related injuries and 45 patients (28.7 %) had bovine-related injuries (
P
= 0.096). Twenty-one (13.4 %) patients were referred to a tertiary center due to their need for intensive care, whereas 1 (0.6 %) patient died. Large animal-related injuries constitute an important health problem for people living in rural areas. This type of injury could be serious and mortality could be observed.
The use of antibiotics as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of periodontal diseases is of special interest to dental practitioners. In addition to using an appropriate antibacterial agent, ...clinicians may find it useful to determine the local and systemic concentrations of antibiotics in infected periodontal sites to reduce the levels of bacteria. The purpose of this study was to determine the serum and gingival crevicular fluid, or GCF, concentrations of systemic ciprofloxacin in patients with periodontitis.
Ten subjects with chronic periodontitis received ciprofloxacin (500 milligrams) twice daily for five days. The authors collected GCF and serum samples immediately after administering the first dose (baseline = 0 hours) and at consecutive time points. The orifice method was used for GCF sampling, and 5 milliliters of venous blood was drawn for serum analysis. The authors used high-performance liquid chromatography to determine ciprofloxacin concentrations in GCF and serum.
The authors found that ciprofloxacin concentrations in GCF were significantly higher than concentrations in serum at two, four, seven, 24 and 120 hours. Ciprofloxacin reached the maximum concentration, or Cmax (3.72 micrograms/ mL), in GCF two hours after the initial dose was administered. The concentration decreased to 2.06 microg/mL 24 hours after the initial administration of the drug. Serum Cmax was 2.58 microg/mL at 1.5 hours, and the concentration decreased to 0.26 microg/mL at 24 hours.
The results of this clinical study show that ciprofloxacin is found in GCF and its concentration in GCF is significantly higher than that in serum.
Ciprofloxacin may be useful in treating patients with periodontitis because it reaches higher concentrations in GCF than in serum.