Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Industry
Update on anti-TNF agents and other new drugs for IBD
23 Jun, 2017 | 13:27h | UTCClinical Review: Update on anti-tumor necrosis factor agents and other new drugs for inflammatory bowel disease – The BMJ (free)
Performance Improvement: Phenytoin Toxicity
22 Jun, 2017 | 00:02h | UTCPerformance Improvement: Phenytoin Toxicity – JAMA (free)
Interesting case of medication error and prevention of subsequent adverse events (RT @JAMA_current see Tweet)
The Challenge of Polypharmacy
21 Jun, 2017 | 15:10h | UTCA medicine review is about stopping medicine as much as it is about prescribing – Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (free) (RT @MaryanneDemasi see Tweet)
Original report: The Challenge of Polypharmacy: From Rhetoric to Reality – Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Royal College of General Practitioners Partnership (free PDF)
Related: Current and future perspectives on the management of polypharmacy – BMC Family Practice (free)
The pressure of Big Pharma
21 Jun, 2017 | 02:06h | UTCThe pressure of Big Pharma – The Globe and Mail (a few articles per month are free) (RT @CADTH_ACMTS see Tweet)
“Financial conflicts of interest are commonplace in clinical practice guidelines”
Your vitamin D tests and supplements are probably a waste of money
21 Jun, 2017 | 02:08h | UTCYour vitamin D tests and supplements are probably a waste of money – VOX (free)
Related: Why Are So Many People Popping Vitamin D? – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
“Screening for vitamin D has exploded — with no good evidence that it helps people.”
Evolocumab for Treatment of High Cholesterol: Clinical Effectiveness
19 Jun, 2017 | 12:55h | UTCEvolocumab for Treatment of High Cholesterol: Clinical Effectiveness (free PDF) (RT @AnilMakam see Tweet 1, Tweet 2, Tweet 3 and Tweet 4)
News release: Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s “New Evidence Update” on PCKS9 Inhibitors Highlights Lack of Mortality Benefit With Evolocumab (free)
Lack of mortality benefit in a recent large trial is highlighted in this updated review. Se more on the FOURIER trial and commentaries in our March 20th issue, see #2.
Hundreds died while taking an arthritis drug, but nobody alerted patients
19 Jun, 2017 | 12:47h | UTC
Pain and Opioids in Cancer Care: Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives
16 Jun, 2017 | 01:24h | UTCPain and Opioids in Cancer Care: Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives – 2017 ASCO Educational Book (free)
Age-specific risks, severity, time course, and outcome of bleeding on long-term antiplatelet treatment after vascular events
15 Jun, 2017 | 00:47h | UTCInvited commentary: Preventing major gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly patients (free)
Commentaries: Aspirin Bleeding Risk in Over 75s Higher Than Thought – Medscape (free registration required) AND Aspirin linked to higher risk of serious bleeding in the elderly – Reuters Health News (free)
In this cohort, the risk of major bleeding increased sharply in patients above 75 years.
Non–Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulant Dosing in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Renal Dysfunction
15 Jun, 2017 | 00:50h | UTCNon–Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulant Dosing in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Renal Dysfunction – Journal of The American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: NOAC Doses: Just Stick to the Label – MedPage Today (free registration required)
“Among the 1,473 patients with a renal indication for dose reduction, 43.0% were potentially overdosed, which was associated with a higher risk of major bleeding”
Low-Dose Ferrous Sulfate vs Iron Polysaccharide Complex for Iron-Deficiency Anemia
15 Jun, 2017 | 00:48h | UTCEffect of Low-Dose Ferrous Sulfate vs Iron Polysaccharide Complex on Hemoglobin Concentration in Young Children With Nutritional Iron-Deficiency Anemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
The JAMA Network – For the Media: Treating Nutritional Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Children (free)
Commentaries: Ferrous Sulfate Drops Tied to Higher Hemoglobin Increases in Kids with Anemia – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Traditional treatment is better for iron-deficiency anaemia in children – OnMedica (free) AND Ferrous Sulfate Effective for Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Kids – Medscape (free registration required)
Researchers expected that Iron Polysaccharide Complex would restore hemoglobin more effectively, because it is designed to be tolerated better, but the proportion of infants and children with a complete resolution of iron-deficiency anemia was higher in the ferrous sulfate group (29 percent vs 6 percent).
Canagliflozin and Cardiovascular and Renal Events in Type 2 Diabetes
14 Jun, 2017 | 00:43h | UTCCommentary: CANVAS: Canagliflozin Reduces CV Events, but at Cost of Amputations – Medscape (free registration required)
Patients treated with canagliflozin had a lower risk of cardiovascular events than those who received placebo but a greater risk of amputation and fractures. The benefits and harms were likely small. See interesting commentaries on the trade-offs by @AnilMakam, see Tweet 1; Tweet 2; Tweet 3; Tweet 4; Tweet 5; Tweet 6; Tweet 7; Tweet 8; and Tweet 9.
Essential medicines require essential diagnostics
15 Jun, 2017 | 00:45h | UTCEssential medicines require essential diagnostics – The Huffington Post Canada Blogs (free)
See more about the new WHO list of essential medicines in our June 7th issue, see #1.
“To use essential medicines, have to know what you’re treating says @paimadhu so need essential diagnostics list too” (RT @markcha see Tweet)
Association of Adverse Events With Antibiotic Use in Hospitalized Patients
14 Jun, 2017 | 00:41h | UTCAssociation of Adverse Events With Antibiotic Use in Hospitalized Patients – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Antibiotic-Associated Adverse Events Common – Medscape (free registration required)
“20% of hospitalized patients receiving antibiotics had adverse drug event. Of those, 20% of regimens inappropriate” (RT @PeterPronovost see Tweet)
Real-World Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Treatments
15 Jun, 2017 | 00:44h | UTCReal-World Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Treatments in a Nationwide Cohort of 29 823 Patients With Schizophrenia – JAMA Internal Medicine(link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Oral clozapine, long-acting injectables tied to lower relapse risk in schizophrenia – Clinical Psychiatry News (free registration required) AND Long-Acting Antipsychotics Tied to Superior Outcomes – Medscape (free registration required)
“The risk of rehospitalization is about 20% to 30% lower during long-acting injectable treatments compared with equivalent oral formulations”
More Treatments on Deck for Alcohol Use Disorder
14 Jun, 2017 | 00:40h | UTCMedical News & Perspectives: More Treatments on Deck for Alcohol Use Disorder – JAMA (free)
Drugs may help people pass larger kidney stones
13 Jun, 2017 | 20:00h | UTCDrugs may help people pass larger kidney stones – NIHR Signal (free)
Original article: Alpha blockers for treatment of ureteric stones: systematic review and meta-analysis – The BMJ (free)
Related meta-analysis: Effect of Tamsulosin on Stone Passage for Ureteral Stones: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – Annals of Emergency Medicine (free)
Risk of Diabetic Ketoacidosis after Initiation of an SGLT2 Inhibitor
9 Jun, 2017 | 16:02h | UTCCommentaries: Study Warns of Diabetic Ketoacidosis With SGLT2 Inhibitors in T2D – MedPage Today (free registration required) AND SGLT2 Inhibitors Double the Risk for Diabetic Ketoacidosis – Medscape (free registration required) AND New class of type 2 diabetes drug associated with rare, life-threatening outcome – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Via EurekAlert (free)
Related: SGLT2 inhibitors and diabetic ketoacidosis: data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System – Diabetologia (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Management of polypharmacy
8 Jun, 2017 | 15:52h | UTCCurrent and future perspectives on the management of polypharmacy – BMC Family Practice (free) (RT @Azeem_Majeed see Tweet)
Value-based drug pricing makes sense, but is difficult to pull off
8 Jun, 2017 | 15:43h | UTCOpinion: Value-based drug pricing makes sense, but is difficult to pull off – STAT News (free)
WHO updates Essential Medicines List
7 Jun, 2017 | 15:26h | UTCNews release: WHO updates Essential Medicines List with new advice on use of antibiotics, and adds medicines for hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis and cancer (free)
Report 1: The 2017 Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines (free PDF)
Report 2: WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (free PDF)
Report 3: WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (free PDF)
Commentaries: WHO creates controversial ‘reserve’ list of antibiotics for superbug threats – The Washington Post (free) AND Health officials set to release a list of drugs everyone on Earth should be able to access – STAT News (free) AND WHO’s New Essential Medicines List Includes a 40-Year First – Medscape (free registration required)
WHO Essential Medicines List is used by many countries to guide decisions regarding which medications should be available for their population.
#ASCO2017 – Biosimilar May Be As Effective as Trastuzumab for Early Breast Cancer
7 Jun, 2017 | 15:13h | UTC#ASCO2017 – CT-P6 compared with reference trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer: a randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, phase 3 equivalence trial – The Lancet Oncology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Biosimilar May Be As Effective as Trastuzumab for Early Breast Cancer – Physician’s First Watch (free)
Prenatal antidepressant use and risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring
7 Jun, 2017 | 15:07h | UTCEditoral: The safety of antidepressants in pregnancy (free)
Commentary: Kids’ ADHD Risk May Be Linked to Mother’s Underlying Mental Health, Not Prenatal Antidepressant Use – Physician’s First Watch(free)
#ASCO2017 – Abiraterone for Prostate Cancer
5 Jun, 2017 | 14:51h | UTC#ASCO2017 – Abiraterone for Prostate Cancer
Abiraterone plus Prednisone in Metastatic, Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer – New England Journal of Medicine (free) AND Abiraterone for Prostate Cancer Not Previously Treated with Hormone Therapy – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
ASCO News Releases: Abiraterone Delays Metastatic Prostate Cancer Growth by 18 Months, Extends Survival (free) Abiraterone Slows Advanced Prostate Cancer, Helps Patients Live Longer (free)
Hepatotoxic risk of alcohol consumption in patients with rheumatoid arthritis taking methotrexate
4 Jun, 2017 | 19:05h | UTCCommentaries: RA, Methotrexate and Alcohol May Mix Well, to a Degree – Rheumatology Network (free) AND Moderate Alcohol Use Could Be Safe With Methotrexate for RA – Medscape (free registration required)