Ines Souilem

and 8 more

Acenocoumarol is the most widely prescribed vitamin K antagonist (VKA) to prevent and treat thromboembolic disorders. It keeps a major place in many indications despite the introduction of new direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). However, a narrow therapeutic range, an intra-individual variability and drug interactions may lead to serious adverse drug reactions.  Sometimes, a genetic or acquired resistance to this drug may lead to a risky situation. Hopefully, resistance to acenocoumarol is a very rare phenomen.Here in we present an unsusual case of a suspected resistance to acenocoumarol. This case was notified to the Tunisian National Center of Pharmacovigilance on October 2017 and registered under the number 2449/2017. A 67-year-old patient with hypertension, diabetes, and coronary disease was treated with captopril, atenolol, atorvastatin, and salicylic acid. In 2017, acenocoumarol treatment was introduced. At biological control, the prothrombin time (PT) was 100%. The doses of acenocoumarol were raised progressively with iterative controls of PT. PT was always 100% even when acenocoumarol reached the dose of 2 g/day. A resistance to acenocoumarol was suspected. The patient was referred to pharmacovigilance department for case analysis. During the patient interview, we discover that the patient was confusing acenocoumarol with atenolol. In fact, when his doctor was increasing the doses of acenocoumarol, the patient increased her intake of atenolol believing that it was acenocoumarol. A resistance to acenocoumarol was eliminated in this patient since she had never taken the drug. We highlight through this case the importance of patient’s interview. Explaining the indications and the potential adverse events of the drug to patients taking VKA is crucial to ensure a better efficiency of treatment without increasing the risk of bleeding complication.

Ines Souilem

and 5 more

Iopromide is one of the latest generations of non-ionic monomers (NIM) iodinated contrast media (CM). Its use is generally considered to be safe but can occasionally results in adverse events. The frequency of late adverse reactions to non-ionic monomers is between 0.52 and 23%. Delayed adverse reactions mainly manifest as skin reactions such as erythema, maculopapular exanthema and exceptionally as fixed drug eruption (FDE). To the best of our knowledge this is an exceptional case of bullous FDE diagnosed after administration of iopromide. This case was notified to the Tunisian Center of Pharmacovigilance on December 2020 and registered under the number 1925/2020. A 75-year-old woman, with a history of breast carcinoma underwent a chest CT scan with injection of contrast product (ultravist® iopromide) in November 2020. The same day, she developed four, 2 cm in diameter, well limited and oval shaped slightly erythematous itchy plaques on the trunk and right lower limb with a burning sensation. The next day, some of these lesions developed to bullae and erosions. There was not any pathological finding in the physical examination. Biopsy findings were in line with the clinical diagnosis of FDE. The skin lesions were treated with topical corticoids and showed complete resolution one month later with residual hyperpigmentation. Although very uncommon, bullous FDE induced by CM does exist and should be known by radiologists. In this case, we emphasize the importance of a thorough pharmacovigilance investigation with a detailed history and a careful examination of physical and histopathological findings, since patch tests expose the patient to the risk of reactivation and more severe reactions.

Ines Souilem

and 5 more