The literature is reviewed for contact dermititis associated with transdermaltherapeutic systems. Clonidine. nitroglycern. scopolamine. estradiol and testosterone are utilized in such applications, and fentunyl is under investigation, Most cutaneous reactions are limited to localized dermatitis; however, generalized systemic effects may occur Investigators are reporting skin‐related side‐effects in up to 50% of patients using transdermal clonidine: however, with the other agents, this is much less frequently. Reactivation of the dermatitis via oral medication, fallowing to the patch, is noted in rare instances.
To the Editor. —In the MarchArchives, Snider and Powell1presented a well-organized review of the sparse and scattered data available in the literature concerning the appearance of antituberculosis drugs in human breast milk. The information available to these authors indicated thatp-aminosalicylic acid and pyrazinamide were either not detectable or unknown at the time of publication; however, my laboratory has recently analyzed both of these components in human breast milk. A 27-year-old woman (non-breast-feeding) was given 4 g ofp-aminosalicylic acid and breast milk collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, and 12 hours following oral administration. A maximum concentration of 1.1 mg/L was obtained at three hours with an elimination halflife of 2.5 hours. The maximum plasma concentration of the mother at two hours was determined to be 70.1 mg/L. Gastrointestinal tract irritation later developed and thep-aminosalicylic acid was withdrawn from the
