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Issue:  May 2016 •  Archive  •  Subscribe •  Unsubscribe
In This Edition Featured Article Featured CE
•  Editor's Notebook
•  Counseling Pearls
•  Senior Care
•  Clinical Corner
•  Consult Your Pharmacist
•  Educational Spotlight
•  Quick Poll
 – Website Redesign
  Photo Treatment Considerations for Headache in Pediatric Patients
Each child has individual risk factors that contribute to diagnosis, warranting strategic therapy.
  Photo Safe Use of Analgesics in Acute Pediatric Pain
Pharmacists play an integral role in ensuring that pain medications are used properly and safely in children.
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Editor's Notebook
A Dour Development

The very success of science in combating HIV/AIDS has, ironically, led to complacency among adolescents.
Counseling Pearls
Photo Depression in Pediatric Patients With Type 1 Diabetes

The management of type 1 diabetes in children is a lifelong commitment that places a large burden on patients and their families. The use of antidepressants in this population requires thorough counseling by a pharmacist to ensure optimal outcomes.
Photo Post-Tonsillectomy Pain in Children: The Postcodeine Era

There is controversy regarding which postsurgical analgesic agents are safe and effective. After reports of codeine-related fatalities, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication advising practitioners that codeine use in certain children after tonsillectomy may lead to rare but life-threatening respiratory failure and death.
 
Senior Care
Male Preconception Health: Impact of Age, Medications, and Other Exposures

A variety of medications can affect sperm count and quality, and age significantly increases the rate of genetic mutations transmitted via sperm.
 
Clinical Corner
Photo The Management of Antenatal Hydronephrosis

Hydronephrosis, defined by the distention and dilation of the renal pelvis and calyces, is one of the most common anomalies identified during prenatal ultrasonography. Most of the time this condition is self-limiting, but it can also be an indication of underlying urologic pathology.
Photo Managing Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

This common heart disorder, which is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, is usually not progressive, but a small subset of patients develop serious complications, such as progressive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and sudden cardiac death. Pharmacologic treatment includes beta-blockers and nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers.
 
Consult Your Pharmacist
What Is All This Itching About? Self-Care Management of Head Lice

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the use of permethrin 1% or pyrethrins as a reasonable first choice for primary treatment, unless resistance has been proven in the community.
 
Educational Spotlight
Herpes Zoster: Counseling Patients About Prevention and Treatment

Pharmacologic management aims to treat the patient's clinical manifestations of shingles.
Managing Chronic Pain Syndromes

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy, HIV/AIDs neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia adversely affect a patient's quality of life.
Staging and Management of Heart Failure

Guideline-directed medication therapy, education, and lifestyle modifications are essential.
 
Newswire
Ketoconazole Prescribed Off-Label Despite Warnings
Silver Spring, MD—
The FDA is reminding healthcare professionals to avoid prescribing ketoconazole oral tablets to treat skin and nail fungal infections. Despite a 2013 warning that this antifungal can cause serious liver damage and adrenal gland problems, a recent FDA safety review found that oral ketoconazole continues to be prescribed for these types of conditions. Since the 2013 labeling change, one patient death has been reported to the FDA due to liver failure associated with off-label use. Healthcare professionals should use ketoconazole tablets only to treat serious fungal infections when no other antifungal therapies are available.
Nutrition Facts Label Being Updated After 20 Years
Silver Spring, MD
The FDA has finalized a new and improved Nutrition Facts label that will be used on food products nationwide. The new label will include an updated design to highlight calories and servings, a specific callout for added sugars, and requirements for serving sizes that more closely reflect the amounts of food that people actually eat. "The updated label makes improvements to this valuable resource so consumers can make more informed food choices—one of the most important steps a person can take to reduce the risk of heart disease and obesity," stated FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD. Most food manufacturers will be required to use the new label by July 26, 2018.
Generic Drug Label Rule Postponed Until 2017
Silver Spring, MD—
The FDA has decided to delay until next year a decision about whether to require generic drug manufacturers to update warning labels to reflect new risks. In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that generic drug manufacturers could not be held liable for failing to warn patients about the risks of their products because they had no control over warning label content. However, in 2013, the FDA proposed changing the rules to create parity between brand and generic drug manufacturers for how they update their labels, exposing generic companies to legal liability. This postponement has dismayed consumer groups, but the Generic Pharmaceutical Association said they were pleased with the FDA's careful approach.
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