Clinical News

APP Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Schaumburg, Ill., recently recalled 5 lots of irinotecan hydrochloride injection, used to treat recurrent or progressive metastatic colorectal cancer. Greenstone LLC has recalled 1 lot of Citalopram, used to treat depression, because the bottles may contain finasteride.

Naproxen/esomeprazole magnesium (Vimovo, AstraZeneca and Pozen) 500/20-mg delayed-release tablets was generally well tolerated in osteoarthritis patients requiring daily NSAID therapy who were at risk for NSAID-associated ulcers, according to a study published in Current Medical Research & Opinion.

5α-reductase inhibitors may cause persistent erectile dysfunction, depression, and loss of libido, even after discontinuing use, in men being treated for systems of benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia, according to a literature review published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are commonly nonadherent to therapy, according to a recent study published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The risk of fracture is unlikely in patients taking short-term, low-dose proton pump inhibitors, according to a review of available safety data by FDA.

Evidence supports metformin as a first-line agent to treat type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the online edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

American Regent, a division of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals in Shirley, N.Y., recently recalled several lots of Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Injection and Sodium Chloride Injection because they may contain particulates.

Patients with diabetes who are more adherent to their therapy incur slightly lower healthcare costs, according to a recent study in the journal Health Services Research.

FDA recently released new medication guides and made revisions to a number of others. The following is a synopsis of FDA's actions.

Weight-loss products that promise consumers quick and easy ways to shed pounds don't live up to their claims and, even worse, can cause serious harm, FDA has announced.

FDA has a new target in its continuing efforts to clean up pharmaceutical industry abuses: individual corporate officials. The most recent targets are the vice president of quality and the vice president of operations for OTC Products at McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

SmartTots, a partnership between the International Anesthesia Research Society and FDA, is gathering more research on safe anesthesia for children under 4 years old.

Many patients, especially those with limited literacy, do not consolidate prescription medication regimens efficiently, which could lead to nonadherence, reported a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

A substantial portion of antiretroviral-naive patients are infected with transmitted drug-resistant HIV with 1 or more drug-resistant mutations, and they are much more likely to experience treatment failure, according to a European multicohort study published in The Lancet Infectious Disease.

"This month, the Skin Cancer Foundation?s annual Road to Healthy Skin Tour will begin a journey that will take it to 80 malls, universities, and other locations. "

The willingness of the elderly to take medication for primary cardiovascular disease prevention is relatively insensitive to its benefit but highly sensitive to its adverse effects, according to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis undergoing their first treatment with tumor necrosis factor-? inhibitor showed a high adherence to therapy and a good response, according to a recent Danish study in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

McNeil-PPC must cease manufacturing and distributing and destroy all drugs under its control that were recalled from the Fort Washington, Pa.; Las Piedras, Puerto Rico; and Lancaster, Pa., facilities since December 2009, according to a consent decree from the Department of Justice.

Last week, King Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Pfizer, voluntarily recalled Embeda (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules, a schedule II controlled substance, from all U.S. wholesalers and retailers.

The anticancer drug bevacizumab could help prevent babies with retinopathy of prematurity from becoming blind, reports a new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School.

New data suggest that certain prescription drug products are associated with aggression and violence toward others.

New guidelines in a 2010 report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases contain major updates to its 2006 report that could prove significant for the nation's pharmacies.

Recent data suggest that thrombopoietin receptor agonists are safe and effective for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP, over at least 6 years.

FDA is limiting the amount of acetaminophen in prescription drug products, primarily combinations of acetaminophen and opioids.

A roundup of information on compression stockings after stroke; quality of home INR testing; and cardiovascular risk in users of clopidogrel

Children 6 to 23 months of age who receive trivalent inactivated flu vaccine concurrently with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine are at increased risk of febrile seizures, according to researchers at the CDC and Harvard Medical School.

The risk of certain birth defects is higher in women given opioid analgesics such as hydrocodone during pregnancy, a new study reported.

FDA recently announced its plans to remove certain unapproved prescription medicines used to treat cough, cold, and allergy symptoms.

FDA notified healthcare professionals of serious health risks that have been reported in premature babies receiving lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra, Abbott) oral solution. Lopinavir/ritonavir oral solution contains the ingredients alcohol and propylene glycol.

According to a survey published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing, nearly two-thirds of hospital in-patients had experienced pain in the previous 24 hours, and 42% of those rated their pain as more than 7 out of 10.