The impact of breastfeeding on serum electrolytes in infants hospitalized with severe dehydrating diarrhoea in Yemen

The effect of breastfeeding on serum electrolytes and case fatality was studied in a group of 430 children admitted with severe dehydrating diarrhoea. Hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia were significantly more prevalent in infants who were exclusively bottle-fed (37.3% and 46.3%) compared with exclusively breastfed (12.2% and 16.7%) and among bottle-fed weaning children (46.3% and 62.6%) compared with weaning children who continued to breastfeed (24.7% and 36.7%, respectively). Mortality was lower in exclusively breastfed children (4.4%) than in those receiving formula feeds (16.4%); it was also lower in weaning children who continued to receive breast-milk (6%) than in bottle-fed weaning children (13.8%). Breastfeeding significantly reduces case fatality and the likelihood of electrolyte disturbances among infants hospitalized with severe dehydrating diarrhoea.

Microdetermination of propofol in plasma by a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatographic method

A direct and sensitive liquid chromatographic method for the determination of propofol in 50 microliters of plasma is described. The separation of the drug and internal standard (methyldopa) was achieved using a 4 microns particle size C1R cartridge (10 cm x 8 mm i.d.) in conjunction with a radial compression system and a C18 precolumn module. The mobile phase consisted of 0.01 M sodium acetate solution (adjusted to pH 3 with acetic acid)-acetonitrile-methanol (37:47.25:15.75, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 2 ml min-1. The compounds were detected in the effluent spectrofluorimetrically with excitation and emission wavelengths of 276 and 310 nm, respectively. After the internal standard had been added, the sample was diluted with 50 microliters of hydrochloric acid and centrifuged prior to injection into the chromatograph. The peaks of both propofol and internal standard under these conditions were sharp and symmetrical, and the retention times were 8.2 and 5.15 min, respectively. The peak-height ratio (drug/internal standard) varied linearly (r > 0.9959) with concentration in the ranges 0.002-0.1 and 0.1-10 micrograms ml-1 and the relative standard deviation was consistently < 5.6%. There was no interference in the assay from the endogenous substance or other concomitantly used drug. This method is currently being used for monitoring propofol in intensive care patients and investigating its pharmacokinetics.