Clinical News

FDA recently called for the addition of new Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy requirements for medications. This article examines some resulting challenges and potential solutions.

Depression is a disease like any other. The pharmacist's task is to keep depression patients educated about their disease and their medications, and to stress the importance of adherence to medication. But before that, depression screening may be Job 1.

The American Heart Association recently released its updated cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines for women. The guidelines emphasize practical medical advice that works in the ?real world? rather than on findings primarily observed in clinical research.

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen said it was in discussions with regulatory authorities in Europe and Canada to address trace amounts of a fungicide found in certain lots of its HIV drug Prezista (darunavir).

The American Pain Foundation recently released a new medication safety module on acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as part of its PainSAFE initiative.

FDA approved the use of meningococcal (A, C, Y, W-135) polysaccharide diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine (Menactra, Sanofi Pasteur) in children aged as young as 9 months for the prevention of invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y, and W-135.

A daily dose of opioids for nonmalignant pain is strongly associated with opioid-related mortality, and doses of 200 mg or more of morphine or equivalent are associated with a particularly high risk, according to a recent study published in the April issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Hemoglobin A1c levels below 6% are associated with a small but significant increased risk of mortality in elderly patients, according to a retrospective cohort study published online in Diabetes Care.

The American College of Rheumatology has developed new guidelines for starting and monitoring treatments for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

In the largest study of its kind, medication errors were greatly reduced after electronic prescribing systems and computerized error reporting systems were installed in a hospital?s psychiatric unit.

Postmenopausal women who were evaluated after taking conjugated equine estrogen had neither an increased nor decreased risk of coronary heart disease, and a decrease in breast cancer risk persisted, according to a post-intervention follow-up of the Women?s Health Initiative Estrogen-Alone Trial, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dalteparin was not better than unfractionated heparin for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis among critically ill patients, according to an international study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

FDA recently issued warning letters to companies that manufacture and market over-the-counter products, including hand sanitizers, that claim to prevent infection from methicillin-resistant Staphylocococcus aureus.

Infopia America?s SmartDiabetes product line has launched in 284 Walgreens drug stores in central and northeast Florida. The product line coordinates diabetes management between the patient, physician, and pharmacist.

Roche recently recalled its Accu-Chek FlexLink Plus infusion sets globally because they may deliver insufficient amounts of insulin to patients.

Fingolimod (Gilenya, Novartis) reduced the risk of disability progression in patients with RRMS, regardless of treatment history, according to a study reported at the 63rd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

The Obama administration recently unveiled a multiagency plan to reduce the ?epidemic? of prescription drug abuse in the United States.

Vaginal progesterone administered from the mid-trimester of pregnancy until term in women with a premature cervical shortening, as confirmed by transvaginal ultrasound, significantly reduced the rate of preterm birth before 33 weeks gestation, according to a phase 3 study published online in Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring is a useful diagnostic tool for differentiating between true and ?white-coat resistant? hypertension, reported a study published online in Hypertension.

There are several therapies in addition to blood thinners that physicians should consider when managing patients with deep vein thrombosis, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association. The statement is published online in Circulation.

Prophylactic acid suppression is not appropriate for most hospital patients who are not being treated in intensive care, according to researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston.

Excessive use of antibiotics has led to the development of drug-resistant pathogens. A sharp decline in development of new antibiotics has limited antimicrobial treatment options. Consequently, as infections become more difficult to treat, patient outcomes may worsen and healthcare costs may rise.

A roundup of information on CHA2DS2-VASc score versus CHADS2 as a thromboembolism determinant; the incidence of pulmonary embolism in knee arthroscopy patients; the increase of venous thromboembolism with antipsychotic drug use.

The anticholinergic drug tiotropium is more effective than the Β2-agonist salmeterol in preventing exacerbations in patients with moderate-to-very-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a multicenter European study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease may need 2 doses of adjuvanted split influenza A vaccine to elicit the same antibody response as healthy individuals, reported a recent Swiss study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Clopidogrel hypersensitivity, which affects 6% of patients, can be successfully treated using short-course corticosteroids and antihistamines without interrupting drug therapy, reported researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

Combining angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors with angiotensin-receptor blockers is associated with increased risk of adverse renal outcomes, according to a recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists recently published Anticoagulation Therapy: A Point-of-Care Guide for clinicians, pharmacists, and pharmacy residents.

The use of high-dose clopidogrel compared with use of standard-dose clopidogrel does not reduce the incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or stent thrombosis among patients with high on-treatment reactivity after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents, according to a recent multicenter study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Antibiotic use is rising at Veterans Affairs medical facilities across the country, according to findings released at the annual meeting in Dallas of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.