Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Industry
Deprescribing Recommendations: An Essential Consideration for Clinical Guideline Developers
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:11h | UTCRelated: Position Statement: Reducing Inappropriate Medication Use & Polypharmacy (several articles and commentaries on the subject)
““Clinical guidelines often do not accommodate frailty or patients with multiple comorbid conditions. This can give rise to complex medication regimens and risk of medication harm.” Paper discusses the need to include deprescribing in clinical guidelines” (via @Deprescribing see Tweet)
Randomized Trial: Vaccine Against TB May Help Individuals with Latent Infection
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:04h | UTCEditorial: New Promise for Vaccines against Tuberculosis (free)
Commentaries: New TB vaccine protects half of people with latent infection – NBC Health News (free) AND Experimental vaccine shows promise in preventing TB – MedicalXpress (free)
Opinion: STAT’s Cheerleading Coverage of Prescription Fish Oil Capsule Lacks Crucial Context
28 Sep, 2018 | 01:01h | UTCOriginal Commentary: Amarin fish oil capsule shows dramatic benefit for cardiovascular patients, potentially upending market – STAT (free)
Study: Drug–herb and Drug–supplement Interactions in Older Adults
27 Sep, 2018 | 23:05h | UTCCommentaries: New study finds concurrent use of prescription drugs and dietary supplements could pose health risks – University of Hertfordshire (free) AND Concerns raised about older adults mixing prescription drugs and herbal remedies – NHS Choices (free)
Review: Pharmacokinetics–Pharmacodynamics Issues Relevant for the Clinical use of Beta-lactams in Critically Ill Patients
27 Sep, 2018 | 23:02h | UTCRelated: Extended Antibiotic Infusions Could Save Lives: Here’s How to Do It (free commentary) AND Mortality lower with prolonged vs. short-term IV infusion of antipseudomonal beta-lactams (link to abstract and free commentary)
NICE: Double Check Patients with ‘Penicillin Allergy’ to Avoid Increased MRSA Risk
27 Sep, 2018 | 22:41h | UTCRelated Study: Risk of Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Clostridium Difficile in Patients with a Documented Penicillin Allergy (free article and commentaries)
Study: Oral Fluoroquinolone and the Risk of Aortic Dissection
21 Sep, 2018 | 01:50h | UTCOral Fluoroquinolone and the Risk of Aortic Dissection – Journal of the American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: The Fluoroquinolone/Aortic Dissection Association – Emergency Medicine Literature of Note (free)
Related observational studies with similar conclusions: Fluoroquinolone use and risk of aortic aneurysm and dissection (free articles)
Viewpoint: Probiotic Safety—No Guarantees
20 Sep, 2018 | 19:38h | UTCProbiotic Safety—No Guarantees – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Related: Probiotics: Does the Evidence Match the Hype? (free articles and commentaries) AND Systematic Review: Harms Reporting in Trials with Probiotics (link to abstract and commentaries)
Randomized Trial: Effect of Aspirin on All-Cause Mortality in the Healthy Elderly
20 Sep, 2018 | 19:25h | UTCEffect of Aspirin on All-Cause Mortality in the Healthy Elderly – New England Journal of Medicine (free) (via @EricTopol)
Related Studies: Effect of Aspirin on Cardiovascular Events and Bleeding in the Healthy Elderly – New England Journal of Medicine (free) AND Effect of Aspirin on Disability-free Survival in the Healthy Elderly – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Commentaries: Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy life span in older people- NIH News Releases (free) AND Low-Dose Aspirin Late in Life? Healthy People May Not Need It – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Review: Optimizing Medications in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment
20 Sep, 2018 | 19:23h | UTC
Meta-Analysis: Fatal Toxic Effects Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
14 Sep, 2018 | 02:22h | UTCFatal Toxic Effects Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – JAMA Oncology (free for a limited period)
Commentaries: Study Discerns Rare Risks of Fatal Side Effects From Cancer Immunotherapy – AJMC (free) AND Fatal Toxicities Rare With Checkpoint Inhibitors – MedicalResearch.com (free)
Related Guidelines: Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline (free) AND Managing toxicities associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: consensus recommendations from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Toxicity Management Working Group (free)
Related Review: New drugs, new toxicities: severe side effects of modern targeted and immunotherapy of cancer and their management – Critical Care (free)
Study: Factors Associated With Long-term Benzodiazepine Use Among Older Adults
14 Sep, 2018 | 02:04h | UTCFactors Associated With Long-term Benzodiazepine Use Among Older Adults – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: 1 in 4 Older Adults Prescribed a Benzodiazepine Goes on to Risky Long-Term Use, Study Finds – Michigan Medicine, via NewsWise (free) AND Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use Common Among Older Adults – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Factors Predicting Long-term Benzodiazepine Use Identified – Medscape (free registration required) AND Larger Number of Benzodiazepine Pills in Initial Prescription Associated With Long Term Use – MedicalResearch.com (free)
Related: A Quiet Drug Problem Among the Elderly – The New York Times (free) AND Our Other Prescription Drug Problem – New England Journal of Medicine (free) AND Benzodiazepines: our other prescription drug epidemic – STAT (free) AND Deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists – Canadian Family Physician (free)
Study: Long-term Outcomes of Pharmacist-Led Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring and Management
14 Sep, 2018 | 01:55h | UTCCommentary: Pharmacist-Led BP Telemonitoring Intervention Works Up to 1 Year After Program Stops – TCTMD (free)
How Well do You Know your Anticholinergic (Antimuscarinic) Drugs?
14 Sep, 2018 | 01:56h | UTCHow well do you know your anticholinergic (antimuscarinic) drugs? – Therapeutics Initiative (free)
Systematic Review: Pharmacist Services for Non‐hospitalised Patients
14 Sep, 2018 | 01:38h | UTCPharmacist services for non‐hospitalised patients – Cochrane Library (free)
Summary: Can services delivered by pharmacists improve patient health? – Cochrane Library (free)
Commentaries: Pharmacists play vital role in improving patient health shows biggest review of evidence to date – University of Bath (free) AND Community pharmacy can significantly improve care in long-term conditions, large-scale analysis finds – The Pharmaceutical Journal (free)
Probiotics: Does the Evidence Match the Hype?
14 Sep, 2018 | 01:18h | UTCRelated Article: Post-Antibiotic Gut Mucosal Microbiome Reconstitution Is Impaired by Probiotics and Improved by Autologous FMT – Cell (free)
Commentaries: Probiotics: Does the evidence match the hype? – Medical News Today (free) AND Probiotics labelled ‘quite useless’ – BBC (free)
Ten Commandments of the 2018 ESC/ESH Hypertension Guidelines
6 Sep, 2018 | 03:14h | UTCTen Commandments of the 2018 ESC/ESH HTN Guidelines on Hypertension in Adults – European Heart Journal (free) (via @gonzaeperez)
Randomized Trial: Treatments for Uncomplicated Influenza in Adults and Adolescents Compared
6 Sep, 2018 | 03:10h | UTCBaloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza in Adults and Adolescents – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Quick Take Video Summary: Baloxavir for Uncomplicated Influenza (free)
Commentary: New single-dose antiviral cuts flu symptoms, viral loads – CIDRAP (free)
Cohort Studies: Diclofenac Use and Cardiovascular Risks
6 Sep, 2018 | 03:04h | UTCDiclofenac use and cardiovascular risks: series of nationwide cohort studies – The BMJ (free)
Commentary: Diclofenac Again Tied to Major Cardiovascular Events – NEJM Physician’s First Watch (free) AND ‘A major safety concern’: World’s most common NSAID doubles CVD risk – Cardiovascular Business (free)
Biologic DMARD Safety Guidelines in Inflammatory Arthritis
2 Sep, 2018 | 01:51h | UTCCommentary: New BSR Guidelines on Biologic Safe Use with Inflammatory Arthritis – RheumNow (free)
Study: Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Drug Events from Antibiotics in Children
31 Aug, 2018 | 01:44h | UTCCommentaries: Antibiotic side effects send 70,000 children to ER each year, study says – UPI (free) AND Antibiotic side-effects in kids lead to nearly 70,000 ER visits in the US each year – Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, via ScienceDaily (free)
NICE Draft Guidance: Antibiotics Should Not Be Issued as First Line of Treatment for a Cough
23 Aug, 2018 | 23:52h | UTCCommentaries: Promote honey rather than antibiotics for coughs, doctors told – The Guardian (free) AND Use honey first for a cough, new guidelines say – BBC (free)
Related: Honey for acute cough in children – Cochrane Library (free systematic review and commentary)
Systematic Review: Phosphate Binders to Prevent Complications of Chronic Kidney Disease
23 Aug, 2018 | 23:40h | UTCPhosphate binders for preventing and treating chronic kidney disease‐mineral and bone disorder (CKD‐MBD) – Cochrane Library (free for a limited period)
Summary: Phosphate binders to prevent complications of chronic kidney disease – Cochrane Library (free)
Extended Antibiotic Infusions Could Save Lives: Here’s How to Do It
23 Aug, 2018 | 23:40h | UTCExtended antibiotic infusions could save lives: Here’s how to do it – PulmCCM (free)
Related Research: Mortality lower with prolonged vs. short-term IV infusion of antipseudomonal beta-lactams (free)
“The simplest (and cheapest) technique is simply to reduce the time between doses.”
Study: Seven Days of Antibiotics Were as Good as 14 for Gram-Negative Bacteremia
23 Aug, 2018 | 23:39h | UTCSeven days of antibiotics were as good as 14 for gram-negative bacteremia – PulmCCM (free)
Related Commentary: Seven-day antibiotic course delivers similar outcomes to 14-days for Gram-negative bacteraemia – European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, via EurekAlert (free)
“It’s important to note that source control was believed to be achieved in all enrolled patients. If source control cannot be achieved (e.g., an abscess, or an infected heart valve or indwelling catheter that cannot safely be removed), prolonged antibiotic courses are often advisable.”