Articles related to Pharmacotherapy (BCPS)

Benzodiazepine use among U.S. adults aged 65 years and older declined before 2020 but remained largely unchanged through 2024. Long-term use persisted in roughly one-third of users, with smaller reductions among adults aged 75 years and older.

A rapid review found that ADHD stimulant misuse declined in several recent US surveys, particularly among younger adults, although millions continued to report misuse. Evidence linked frequent misuse with polysubstance use, while long-term health consequences remain poorly characterized.

An observational study associated repeated gabapentin prescribing with higher rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment, particularly among adults aged 18 to 64 years. Experts emphasized that the findings do not establish causality and should be interpreted cautiously.

The FDA expanded approval of Capvaxive, a pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine, to children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 years with at least one chronic medical condition increasing pneumococcal disease risk, based on STRIDE-13 trial data showing noninferiority to PPSV23 across 12 shared serotypes and statistically significantly higher OPA GMTs for 9 serotypes unique to Capvaxive.

The American College of Physicians issued a living clinical guideline recommending semaglutide and tirzepatide as first-line pharmacologic treatments with lifestyle modifications for nonpregnant adults with obesity (BMI 30 kg/m2 or higher) or overweight (BMI 27 to 30 kg/m2) with at least one weight-related comorbidity, with phentermine-topiramate, liraglutide, and naltrexone-bupropion designated as second-, third-, and fourth-line options respectively based on GRADE evidence review.

Pediatric pharmacists recorded 1,130 antithrombotic-related interventions involving 26.4% of 2,264 critically ill children across 9 U.S. children’s hospitals during 697 shifts from July 2023 to November 2024, with 74.7% of those interventions occurring in the pediatric cardiac ICU and 90.4% of initiation and management interventions involving anticoagulant agents.