Minor adverse events (e.g., bad taste in the mouth and dizziness) occur more frequently with intranasal ketamine than with intranasal fentanyl in children with suspected extremity fractures. That is the primary finding of a study published in the December 2017 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine, a journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). The [...]
Digital pills – gelatin capsules that contain an ingestible sensor along with medication – can help track patterns of drug use, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) clinicians are among the first to explore the application of this new technology among patients being prescribed opioids. In a paper published in the December issue of Anesthesia [...]
People who overdose on paracetamol could be helped by a blood test that shows immediately if they are going to suffer liver damage. Researchers have said that the test – which detects levels of specific molecules in blood – will help doctors identify which patients arriving in hospital need more intense treatment. It will also [...]
Widely-available ibuprofen is a better choice for pain relief in children who have undergone minor orthopedic outpatient surgery, as it has fewer adverse effects compared with oral morphine, according to results from a clinical trial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) ‘This result suggests that adequate pain management should be an important goal [...]
Although the clinical efficacy of antidepressants in children and adolescents is proven, it is frequently accompanied by side-effects. In addition, the influence of the placebo effect on the efficacy of antidepressants is unclear. A meta-analysis of data from over 6,500 patients has now shown that, although antidepressants are more effective than placebos, the difference is [...]
Mylan NV has announced the US launch of Caspofungin Acetate for Injection, one of the first generic versions of Merck’s Cancidas. Mylan received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for this antifungal which has multiple indications. Caspofungin Acetate for Injection had US sales of [...]
The overuse of antibiotics has left some doctors questioning whether to give such drugs to children diagnosed with uncomplicated staph infections. Such infections often occur on the skin and look like a pus-filled bug bite. Now, research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis indicates that prescribing antibiotics – in addition to [...]
Compared to other medical settings, emergency patients who are prescribed opioids for the first time in the emergency department are less likely to become long-term users and more likely to be prescribed these powerful painkillers, in accordance with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. A paper analysing 5.2 million prescriptions for opioids [...]
Geriatrics experts know that certain medications may have risks for older adults that outweigh their benefits, especially when safer alternatives are available. Medications that could be ‘potentially inappropriate’ for older adults are included on recommendation lists. However, despite these recommendations, 25 per cent of older adults take at least one potentially inappropriate medication every year. [...]
The use of a urine test for drug adherence can lead to a drop in blood pressure in patients who had been struggling to regularly take their blood pressure lowering tablets, according to a new study involving UCL researchers, published in Hypertension. Of the 238 patients who underwent the urine test, 73 were not taking [...]
