Gibran Avelino Frandoloso

Medication reconciliation at patient admission: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To measure length of hospital stay (LHS) in patients receiving medication reconciliation. Secondary characteristics included analysis of number of preadmission medications, medications prescribed at admission, number of discrepancies, and pharmacists interventions done and accepted by the attending physician. Methods: A 6 month, randomized, controlled trial conducted at a public teaching hospital in southern Brazil. Patients admitted to general wards were randomized to receive usual care or medication reconciliation, performed within the first 72 hours of hospital admission. Results: The randomization process assigned 68 patients to UC and 65 to MR. LHS was 10±15 days in usual care and 9±16 days in medication reconciliation (p=0.620). The total number of discrepancies was 327 in the medication reconciliation group, comprising 52.6% of unintentional discrepancies. Physicians accepted approximately 75.0% of the interventions. Conclusion: These results highlight weakness at patient transition care levels in a public teaching hospital. LHS, the primary outcome, should be further investigated in larger studies. Medication reconciliation was well accepted by physicians and it is a useful tool to find and correct discrepancies, minimizing the risk of adverse drug events and improving patient safety.

Fulminant hepatitis in a patient with secondary syphilis

Despite the increasing incidence of syphilis and due to its wide variety of clinical manifestations, syphilis remains an under-diagnosed condition. We report an unusual case of secondary syphilis presenting with acute hepatitis and skin lesions, confirmed based on positive treponemal and non-treponemal assays. Despite adequate diagnosis and treatment, the patient developed fulminant hepatitis and brain death. This atypical presentation emphasizes the importance of high clinical suspicion in recognizing syphilis as an etiology for unexplained acute hepatitis, allowing early diagnosis and treatment and possibly avoiding severe complications such as fulminant hepatic failure.

Seborrheic Keratoses as the First Sign of Bladder Carcinoma: Case Report of Leser-Trélat Sign in a Rare Association with Urinary Tract Cancer

Introduction. Skin disorders can be the first manifestation of occult diseases. The recognition of typical paraneoplastic dermatoses may anticipate the cancer diagnosis and improve its prognosis. Although rarely observed, the sudden appearance and/or rapid increase in number and size of seborrheic keratoses can be associated with malignant neoplasms, known as the sign of Leser-Trélat. The aim of this report is to unveil a case of a patient whose recently erupted seborrheic keratoses led to investigation and consequent diagnosis of bladder cancer. Case Presentation. A 67-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit due to an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). On physical examination, multiple seborrheic keratoses on the back of the hands, elbows, and trunk were observed; the patient had a 4-month history of these lesions yet was asymptomatic. The possibility of Leser-Trélat syndrome justified the investigation for neoplasia, and a bladder carcinoma was detected by CT-scan. The patient denied previous hematuria or any other related symptoms. Many of the lesions regressed during oncologic treatment. Conclusion. Despite the critics on the validity of the sign of Leser-Trélat, our patient fulfills the description of the disease, though urinary malignancy is a rare association. That corroborates the need of further investigation when there is a possibility of paraneoplastic manifestation.