Bronchial responsiveness to inhaled metabisulfite in asthmatic children increases with age

Hypersensitivity Reactions to Food Additives-Preservatives, Antioxidants, Flavor Enhancers

There have been reports of food hypersensitivity reactions to food additives (HFA) for many years. The mechanisms of HFA and their frequency are difficult to precisely define, as most of the data come from outdated studies with poor methodology. In 2020, the European Food Safety Authority completed a review of additives, examining their influence on the occurrence of HFA, but did not include all of them. The aim of this review is to systematise knowledge about selected groups of food additives (FAs) and the HFA induced by them. We also briefly discuss the issues of diagnosis and therapy in this disease. FAs are commonly used in prosscessed foods, but HFA appears to be a rare phenomenon. Identification of the FA responsible for hypersensitivity and its treatment is difficult. Diagnosis is a challenge for the clinician and for the patient. A food diary is a helpful diagnostic tool. It allows diet therapy to be monitored based on the partial or complete elimination of products containing a harmful additive. An elimination diet must not be deficient, and symptomatic pharmacotherapy may be necessary if its application is ineffective. Taking all this into account, we conclude that it is necessary to conduct randomised multicentre studies based on the double-blind placebo control protocol in this field.

Pharmaceutics for the anaesthetist

Pharmaceutics is that branch of science concerned with the manufacture and formulation of pharmaceutical products, and is a subject almost exclusively in the domain of pharmacists and those concerned with pharmaceutical manufacture. However, there are some aspects of pharmaceutics that are of particular importance to the anaesthetist, such as the pharmacology of the various preservatives, antimicrobials and other additives found in anaesthetic products, and an understanding of basic processes such as emulsification and lyophylisation. This review aims to survey those areas.

"Inactive" ingredients in pharmaceutical products: update (subject review). American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs

Because of an increasing number of reports of adverse reactions associated with pharmaceutical excipients, in 1985 the Committee on Drugs issued a position statement recommending that the Food and Drug Administration mandate labeling of over-the-counter and prescription formulations to include a qualitative list of inactive ingredients. However, labeling of inactive ingredients remains voluntary. Adverse reactions continue to be reported, although some are no longer considered clinically significant, and other new reactions have emerged. The original statement, therefore, has been updated and its information expanded.