Clinical News

Doses and length of treatment higher than recommended

Tofacitinab approved for 5-mg tablets for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis unhealed by methotrexate

Collaboration produced better outcomes without use of additional meds

Long-term study of 12,500 patients with multiple risk factors found no benefit

Study focused on data from eight sites over a 6-year period and involved 217,755 participants

Providers should take note of changes in the availability of commercial HCV tests

Fluticasone furoate and vilanterol inhalation powder combo is a long-term, once-daily maintenance treatment for COPD

Coming on the heels of FDA's denial of generic forms of OxyContin, the ruling triggers speculation about overall FDA strategy

Migraine prevention drugs used during pregnancy can cause decreased IQ scores in children born to mothers who take these medications, according to an FDA alert.

Leaders of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and hundreds of its members were in Washington, DC, last week for a two-day advocacy-focused conference. They hope to garner support from Congress for leveling the playing field between pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) and independent community pharmacies.

Medicaid coverage was linked to “substantially reduced” depression and the increased diagnosis of diabetes and the use of diabetes medication among low-income adults. At the same time, Medicaid coverage had no detectable effect on the prevalence of diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, according to the study published in the May 2 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The use of neuraxial, or epidural, anesthesia improved outcomes – including mortality – in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery, according to a new study in the May issue of the journal Anesthesiology,

The New Jersey Board of Pharmacy and the state’s Division of Consumer Affairs published a new pharmacy security guide to help prevent drug theft and diversion at retail pharmacies.

Screening patients for risk factors upon hospital admission has potential to identify nearly three out of four asymptomatic carriers of Clostridium difficile, according to a new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

New intervention can raise the level of clotting factors significantly faster and with less volume than plasma can

Last month's judicial ruling that all women of any age have non-Rx access to the drug remains an issue

Clinical trials find tolvaptan may cause injury leading to liver transplant or death

Discoloration of skin and retina color have been reported

Prenatal exposure to valproate significantly increased the risk of autism spectrum disorder and childhood autism in the offspring of mothers who took the anti-epileptic agent, according to a study published in the April 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Interim analysis found results ineffective

FDA approved a new fixed-dose combination ophthalmic suspension of a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (brinzolamide 1.0%) and an alpha 2 adrenergic receptor agonist (brimonidine tartrate 0.2%), which is indicated for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

FDA has approved a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for lubiprostone (Amitiza, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals) 24 ?g twice daily as the first oral medication for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients with chronic, noncancer pain.

L-carnitine significantly improves cardiac health in patients after a heart attack, according to a multicenter team of investigators in a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

For critically ill adults with multiorgan failure, early supplementation with glutamine or antioxidants does not improve clinical outcomes, and glutamine may increase the mortality rate of this patient population, according to a study published in the April 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Generic OxyContin is off the table, and the branded drug gets a label warning that abuse of the product will be difficult

Tamoxifen, raloxifene, or exemestane use by high-risk women will reduce cancer incidence by almost two-thirds

Regardless of its status as an herbal dietary supplement, St. John's Wort is a drug

Alogliptin approved as monotherapy and in two combinations

Data from the RE-MEDY trial suggest that Pradaxa is as effective as warfarin for long-term, extended antithrombotic therapy in patients who have already received at least three months of anticoagulation for VTE

Associations issues results of Medication Management in Care Transitions project