A fully automated sequential injection system was tested in terms of its application in liberation testing, and capabilities and limitations were discussed for clotrimazole liberation from three semisolid formulations. An evaluation based on kinetic profiles obtained in short and longer sampling intervals and steady-state flux values were applied as traditional methods. The obtained clotrimazole liberation profile was faster in the case of Delcore and slower for Clotrimazol AL and Canesten cream commercial formulations. The steady-state flux values for the tested formulations were 52 µg cm-2 h-1 for Canesten, 35 µg cm-2 h-1 for Clotrimazol AL, and 7.2 µg cm-2 h-1 for Delcore measured in 4 min sampling intervals. A simplified approach for the evaluation of the initial rate based on the gradient between the second and third sampling points was used for the first time and was found to correspond well with the results of the conventional methods. A comparison based on the ratio of the steady-state flux and the initial rate values for Canesten and Clotrimazol AL proved the similarity of the obtained results. The proposed alternative was successfully implemented for the comparison of short-term kinetic profiles. Consequently, a faster and simpler approach for dissolution/liberation testing can be used.

• Klíčová slova
• Franz cell, clotrimazole, kinetic profile, liberation study, sequential injection analysis,
• MeSH
• antifungální látky analýza   MeSH
• kinetika MeSH
• klotrimazol analýza   MeSH
• laboratorní automatizace metody   MeSH
• pleťový krém MeSH
• příprava léků MeSH
• průtoková injekční analýza metody   MeSH
• uvolňování léčiv MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• hodnotící studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antifungální látky MeSH
• klotrimazol MeSH

The flow-injection method with sensitive fluorimetric detection is used to monitor the liberation profiles of a topical dermatological formulation containing the model compound salicylic acid. The connection of a standard Franz diffusion cell with the automated flow-injection system enables an acquisition of multi-point liberation data in a form of series of fluorescence peaks in a short time. Examples of liberation profiles for a topical dermatological formulation containing salicylic acid are shown.

• MeSH
• autoanalýza MeSH
• difuze MeSH
• fluorescenční spektrometrie MeSH
• kalibrace MeSH
• koncentrace vodíkových iontů MeSH
• kyselina salicylová analýza   MeSH
• léčivé přípravky analýza   MeSH
• masti MeSH
• průtoková injekční analýza metody   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• kyselina salicylová MeSH
• léčivé přípravky MeSH
• masti MeSH

This article reports on a rapid assessment conducted in the Czech Republic during the second half of 1995. The main aim of the assessment was to describe patterns of illicit drug use, particularly in the capital, Prague. A Rapid Assessment Board was established to oversee the study, and both secondary and original data were collected from a range of sources. Illicit drug use was found to have increased throughout the country in the preceding five years, with amphetamines being the most popular substance. Polydrug use is common. There has been an increase in the use of the so-called "dance drugs", especially lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), among younger people, and heroin, especially in the main urban areas. Injecting is on the increase, too. There is an urgent need to expand both fixed-site and community-based services.

• MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• odhad potřeb MeSH
• odhalování abúzu drog metody   MeSH
• poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek epidemiologie   prevence a kontrola   MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• surveillance populace metody   MeSH
• zjišťování skupinových postojů MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH

BACKGROUND: Intensive use of illicit drugs in general and drug injecting in particular are associated with higher somatic co-morbidity, especially of infectious aetiology. The treatment participation of drug users is complicated by a number of barriers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: At the end of 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted on a non-random sample of 240 drug users (188 men and 52 women) recruited in low-threshold drug services in Prague based on their willingness to participate in the study. Drug injecting sometimes in their lifetime was reported by 237 respondents (98.8%), injecting drug use in the last 12 months by 232 (96.7%), and injecting drug use in the last 30 days by 228 (95.0%). The questionnaire included 38 of the 59 original items from the Barriers to Treatment Inventory (BTI). Factor analysis of these items was performed. In addition to the questionnaire survey, two focus groups with a total of 14 clients were carried out. RESULTS: The factor analysis resulted in a 5-factor model that was fed with 23 BTI items. The factors identified can be interpreted as: (1) difficulty entering treatment due to additional responsibilities (e.g. children, family, work, etc.), (2) previous poor treatment experience, fear and concerns about the treatment or negative attitudes of staff, (3) financial difficulties and formal barriers (health insurance debts, problems with the law, etc.), (4) concerns that entering treatment will be too complicated and difficult, (5) distrust of the treatment's ability to improve the client's life situation. The results of the focus groups have shown that drug users face stigmatization and discrimination in healthcare facilities. CONCLUSION: The access to treatment of infectious and other somatic co-morbidity in drug users is complicated by a number of barriers, which largely arise from the lifestyle and socio-economic situation associated with drug use and from negative experiences with the attitude of medical staff. Healthcare professionals should actively identify and respond to barriers to care among drug users by taking appropriate measures in the context of a multidisciplinary approach and cooperation.

• Klíčová slova
• barriers to care, drug use, infectious diseases, injecting drug use, somatic comorbidity,
• MeSH
• infekční nemoci * MeSH
• komorbidita MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek * MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• uživatelé drog * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND: Controlling hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) has focused on preventing sharing syringes and drug preparation paraphernalia, but it is unclear whether HCV incidence linked to sharing paraphernalia reflects contamination of the paraphernalia or syringe-mediated contamination when drugs are shared. METHODS: In experiments designed to replicate real-world injection practices when drugs are shared, the residual contents of HCV-contaminated syringes with detachable or fixed needled were passed through the "cookers" and filters used by PWID in preparing drugs for injection and then introduced into a second syringe. All items were tested for the presence of infectious HCV using a chimeric HCV with a luciferase gene. RESULTS: Hepatitis C virus could not be recovered from cookers regardless of input syringe type or cooker design. Recovery was higher when comparing detachable needles to fixed needles for residue in input syringes (73.8% vs 0%), filters (15.4% vs 1.4%), and receptive syringes (93.8% vs 45.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results, consistent with the hypothesis that sharing paraphernalia does not directly result in HCV transmission but is a surrogate for transmissions resulting from sharing drugs, have important implications for HCV prevention efforts and programs that provide education and safe injection supplies for PWID populations.

• Klíčová slova
• drug paraphernalia, harm reduction, hepatitis C virus, injection drug use, syringes,
• MeSH
• Hepacivirus izolace a purifikace   fyziologie   MeSH
• hepatitida C přenos   MeSH
• injekční stříkačky virologie   MeSH
• intravenózní abúzus drog komplikace   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mikrobiální viabilita * MeSH
• mikrobiologie životního prostředí * MeSH
• přenos infekční nemoci MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH

BACKGROUND: Within the fifth phase of the Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) covering five post-Soviet Central Asian countries, an analysis of the mortality of drug users was performed. The results for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are presented in detail in this paper since results from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are not considered valid and Turkmenistan did not provide data at all. METHODS: A system of registration of all users of illegal drugs known to the health and/or law enforcement authorities ("narcological registers") exists in Central Asian countries inherited from the system of Soviet "narcology". According to the legal norms, the death of a registered person should be recorded. We conducted indirect standardisation of crude mortality rates and computed the standardised mortality ratio (SMR) comparing observed number of deaths with expected number of deaths according to age and gender specific mortality rates in the general population of the same country. RESULTS: The results show excess mortality in registered drug users, particularly in registered females, in Uzbekistan (the latest available SMR for all those registered is 7.4; the SMR in females is 16.3) and Kazakhstan (4.0 and 12.9). The excess mortality is highest among young adults (18-34) in all the studies. CONCLUSION: Taking into account the limited quality and reliability of the data - first of all, the likely under-reporting of deaths in the narcological registers - the crude mortality rate among registered drug users is quite high when compared to EU countries. The SMR in total is comparably lower as a result of the high background mortality in the general population. This excess mortality is preventable and should be targeted by the national drug policies. Specifically, the programmes should target registered and unregistered female drug users.

• Klíčová slova
• Central Asia, Drug users, Heroin, Mortality, Narcological register, Standardised mortality ratio,
• MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek mortalita   MeSH
• registrace statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• sexuální faktory MeSH
• uživatelé drog statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• věkové rozložení MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Kazachstán epidemiologie   MeSH
• Uzbekistán epidemiologie   MeSH

Introduction: Acute abdomen is one of the most important issues in abdominal surgery. Our study aims to describe the differences in clinical presentation of patients, in the course of their hospitalization, and in morbidity and mortality of patients with drug abuse; another aim is to describe our own experience with drug abusers with acute abdomen. Method: Patients with the history of drug abuse and with non-traumatic acute abdomen were included retrospectively to our set. We chose patients hospitalized between 2013 and 2018. We analyzed the demographical data of the patients, types of abused drugs, concordance between the first and final diagnosis, findings of paraclinical examinations, the need of surgical treatment, and the type of surgery. Morbidity, mortality and the length of hospital stay were tracked. All the data was evaluated using descriptive statistics. Results: 8 patients (4.7 per mille of all the patients hospitalized for acute abdomen) fulfilled the criteria of our study. All the patients were men with median age 32 years. Pervitin (methamphetamine) was the most frequently abused drug (in 50%), followed by heroin, benzodiazepines, tetrahydrocannabinol, subutex, hypnotics and tramadol. Peptic ulcer perforation was the most frequent diagnosis in our set (in 50% of all patients). The other diagnoses included: two cases of upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding, one case of Crohn’s disease relapse with peritonitis and one case of colitis of the ascending colon. Surgical treatment was necessary in 75% patients. 30-day mortality was zero; an early complication (wound dehiscence) developed in one operated patient. Mean length of hospital stay was 9.7 days in our set, with the median of 7 days. Conclusion: Drug abusers represent only a marginal part of all patients with acute abdomen. This group is characterized by a significantly lower age, by a considerable predominance of men and by the preference of perforated peptic ulcer.

• Klíčová slova
• acute abdomen, gastric and duodenal peptic ulcer perforation, drug abuse,
• MeSH
• akutní bolest břicha * etiologie   chirurgie   MeSH
• délka pobytu MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• perforace peptického vředu * MeSH
• poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek * MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• uživatelé drog * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND: The European Web Survey on Drugs aimed to obtain in-depth data on consumption of cannabis, ecstasy/MDMA, cocaine, and amphetamines in different populations of drug users in 16 European countries. This paper examines test-retest reliability, the consistency and the comprehensibility of the prevalence and frequency of use questions in the Czech part of the survey. METHODS: A baseline web survey was performed (N = 610) with follow-up data collection in a sub-sample of volunteers providing email addresses (N = 158). The baseline sample was self-selecting, responding to advertisements made available through multiple channels designed to attract diverse samples of drug users. Test-retest analysis was conducted for core questionnaire items. RESULTS: Respondents to the follow-up were predominantly socially integrated; 91% reported last year cannabis use, 42% used Ecstasy/MDMA, 23% amphetamines, and 27% reported cocaine use. Test-retest reliability was rated moderate to good (reliability coefficients between 0.55-0.87) for most prevalence items with sufficient sample sizes. Items assessing frequency of use were more reliable for most substances when asking about the exact number of days used, compared to categorical items that implicitly assume a regular pattern of use and were interpreted differently by different respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Simplicity and unambiguity of questions increase the reliability of results. Tools measuring drug consumption need to take into consideration the irregularity of drug using patterns. Question testing is important to increase validity and support a correct interpretation of the data.

• Klíčová slova
• Patterns of use, Prevalence, Test/re-test reliability, Web survey,
• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek epidemiologie   MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky normy   MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• uživatelé drog statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

In this contribution, the on-line coupling of solid phase extraction (SPE), based on a restricted-access material (RAM), with sequential injection technique (SIA) for the analysis of biological samples, is described. The SIA-RAM system was tested with a new potential antileucotrienic drug (VUFB-19363 (Quinlukast)) for serum analysis. The method is based on SPE with the novel internal-surface reversed-phase column packing material-alkyl-diol silica (ADS). The supports tolerate direct and repetitive injection of proteinaceous fluids (plasma, serum) and allow reversed-phase partitioning at the internal surface. A column packed with a 25 microm C18 alkyl-diol support was used for direct serum injection. Using a 6-port selection valve and the system of three mobile phases, the polar matrix compounds and metabolites are removed by sequentially aspirated mobile phases with lower content of the organic part (methanol-water (2:98) and following acetonitrile-water (20:80)) to the waste, and then, the analyte enriched on the column is eluted by a strong mobile phase (acetonitrile-methanol-water (40:20:40)) to the UV detector without transfer loss. With the fully automated SIA system, a total analysis time of less than 10 min was achieved. The only off-line sample pre-treatment step required to remove particulate matter was centrifugation. The studies showed a range of linearity (2-40 microg ml(-1)) and a high recovery (93.6-96.8%) of drug from the biological matrix with coefficients of variation (RSD) less than 5.0% (n = 6). This paper introduces a new, simple and robust analytical technique suitable for screening determination and direct analysis of drugs in biological materials.

• MeSH
• antagonisté leukotrienů krev   MeSH
• chinoliny krev   MeSH
• kontaminace léku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• průtoková injekční analýza metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antagonisté leukotrienů MeSH
• chinoliny MeSH
• VUFB19363 MeSH Prohlížeč

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to describe tuberculosis (TB) knowledge, beliefs, and experience with TB services among injecting drug users. METHODS: Participants for this anonymous, cross-sectional study were recruited from a community based syringe exchange programme in Tallinn, Estonia. A structured questionnaire was completed and included information on socio-demographics, health history, drug use, and knowledge about TB and HIV. RESULTS: The study included 407 people (79% male, mean age 27.9 years, mean injection drug use 9.4 years). 32.9% of participants reported HIV infection and 1.7% lifetime history of TB. 26.4% participants (n=106) reported symptoms suggestive of TB. 93% of participants recognized correctly that TB is air-borne infection and 91% that HIV is a risk factor for TB. Only 40% of the participants knew that TB diagnostics and treatment in Estonia are free of charge for everybody and 58% reported they knew where to get health care services in case they suspected that they had TB. TB transmission and treatment adherence knowledge was better among those in contact with either health care or harm reduction services, e.g the community based syringe exchange programme. CONCLUSION: Similar to HIV services, TB prevention and education should be integrated into harm reduction and drug treatment programmes to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of TB among injecting drug users.

• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• oportunní infekce doprovázející AIDS epidemiologie   prevence a kontrola   přenos   MeSH
• poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek epidemiologie   MeSH
• programy výměny jehel a stříkaček * MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• rizikové faktory MeSH
• tuberkulóza epidemiologie   prevence a kontrola   přenos   MeSH
• zdraví - znalosti, postoje, praxe * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Estonsko epidemiologie   MeSH