Journal/Magazine Articles
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This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine
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Item Low dose subcutaneous adrenaline to prevent acute adverse reactions to antivenom serum in people bitten by snakes: randomised, placebo controlled trial(British Medical Association, 1999) Premawardhena, A.P.; de Silva, C.E.; Fonseka, M.M.D.; Gunatilake, S.B.; de Silva, H.J.OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of low dose adrenaline injected subcutaneously to prevent acute adverse reactions to polyspecific antivenom serum in patients admitted to hospital after snake bite. DESIGN: Prospective, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial. SETTING: District general hospital in Sri Lanka. SUBJECTS: 105 patients with signs of envenomation after snake bite, randomised to receive either adrenaline (cases) or placebo (controls) immediately before infusion of antivenom serum. INTERVENTIONS: Adrenaline 0.25 ml (1:1000). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Development of acute adverse reactions to serum and side effects attributable to adrenaline. RESULTS: 56 patients (cases) received adrenaline and 49 (controls) received placebo as pretreatment. Six (11percent) adrenaline patients and 21 (43 percent) control patients developed acute adverse reactions to antivenom serum (P=0.0002). Significant reductions in acute adverse reactions to serum were also seen in the adrenaline patients for each category of mild, moderate, and severe reactions. There were no significant adverse effects attributable to adrenaline. CONCLUSIONS: Use of 0.25 ml of 1:1000 adrenaline given subcutaneously immediately before administration of antivenom serum to patients with envenomation after snake bite reduces the incidence of acute adverse reactions to serum.Item Excessive fibrinolysis: the coagulopathy following Merrem's hump-nosed viper( Hypnale hypnale) bites(1998) Premawardhena, A.P.; Seneviratne, S.L.; Gunatilake, S.B.; de Silva, H.J.In 56 patients with proven hump-nosed viper (Hypnale hypnale) bites, 12 (21.4 percent) developed continued oozing of blood from the site of the bite and a prolonged clotting time. Further investigations showed low fibrinogen levels and increased fibrinogen degradation products in plamsa. The bleeding time, platelet count, prothrombin time, and partial thromboplastin time with kaolin were normal. The bite of this snake can be complicated with a coagulopathy in which excessive fibrinolysis seems to be the main abnormalityItem Coagulopathy and fibrinoloysis following the bite of a hump-nosed viper (Hypnale hypnale)(Oxford University Press, 1996) Premawardhena, A.P.; Seneviratne, S.L.; Gunatilake, S.B.; de Silva, H.J.No Abstract Available