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Editor's Notebook |
Will Technology Ever Replace Pharmacists?
Contrary to early predictions, technological advances in pharmacy have greatly enhanced the profession. |
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Counseling Pearls |
The Rise in Bed Bugs: Prevention, Management, and Treatment
These insects can be difficult to eradicate because they have developed resistance to many chemical treatments. Cutaneous and systemic reactions to bites are generally treated symptomatically. |
Pediatric Antibiotic Use: A Focused Review of Fluoroquinolones and Tetracyclines
The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes of antibiotics may differ between children and adults. These two agents should be used only for approved indications and infections without an effective alternative. |
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It's the Law |
Affordable Care Act (Mostly) Upheld
Demands for pharmacist services under the ACA are likely to have a huge impact on future workforce needs. |
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Clinical Corner |
Drug Therapy for Common Parasitic Infections Within the United States
Many highly toxic agents used for parasitic infections worldwide are unavailable here because of the low occurrence of such diseases in the U.S. In this country, infection is usually due to travel to tropical areas, recent U.S. immigration, or contact with new immigrants. |
Empiric Antimicrobial Management of Sepsis
Besides being difficult to manage, sepsis is a major health care burden and has considerable associated morbidity and mortality concerns. These infections occur in 15% to 35% hospitalized patients, most commonly those in ICUs. |
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Consult Your Pharmacist |
Preventing and Recognizing Tick-Borne Diseases
Lyme disease is well known to the public, but many other types of infections can be transmitted through tick bites. |
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Educational Spotlight |
Emphysema: A Clinical Review
Current guidelines do not differentiate between emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but collectively address treatment under the heading of COPD. |
Erectile Dysfunction
A variety of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic options are available for treating impotence. |
Fibromyalgia and the Pharmacist's Role
Widespread pain, tenderness, and fatigue are the main diagnostic criteria for this chronic disorder. |
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FDA: Risk of Death in Some Children From Postsurgical Codeine Use
Silver Spring, MD — The FDA has issued a Drug Safety Communication concerning three children who died and one who had a life-threatening (nonfatal) case of respiratory depression after taking codeine following removal of their tonsils or adenoids. The codeine doses administered were within the typical range. Some people are ultrarapid metabolizers of codeine, resulting in abnormally high blood levels of the narcotic, which can lead to overdose and death. The children who died showed evidence of being ultrarapid metabolizers. The FDA is currently reviewing adverse event reports and other data to determine whether other cases of overdose or death have occurred in children taking codeine and whether these events have taken place during treatment of pain following other kinds of surgery or procedures. |
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Bloodstream Infections May Respond Better to Lesser-Used Antibiotic
Waltham and Boston, MA — Vancomycin, the antibiotic most commonly prescribed to treat bloodstream infections in dialysis patients, may not always be the best choice. Researchers compared the effectiveness of various antibiotics in preventing hospitalization and death from bloodstream infection by reviewing more than 500,000 blood culture results from a chronic kidney disease database, looking for methicillin-sensitive strains of Staphylococcus aureus and identifying the use of vancomycin or cefazolin to treat these infections. Patients treated with cefazolin, which is less often prescribed for bloodstream infections, had a 38% lower rate of hospitalization and death than vancomycin-treated patients, and a 48% lower rate of sepsis. The data suggest that outcomes for patients with bloodstream infections may be improved through appropriate antibiotic selection. |
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Lucentis Approved to Treat Diabetic Macular Edema
Silver Spring, MD — The FDA has approved Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), a sight-threatening eye disease occurring in people with diabetes. In DME, fluid leaks into the macula and causes it to swell, which then blurs vision. All patients with diabetes have the risk of developing DME. Lucentis was previously approved to treat wet age-related macular degeneration and macular edema following retinal-vein occlusion. The drug, which is administered once monthly by a health care professional, is intended to be used together with good diabetic sugar control. |
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