Articles related to DRUG SAFETY & INTERACTIONS

Delving into the potential risks and effects of combining linezolid with methadone, buprenorphine, and/or dextroamphetamine, this study offers crucial insights that can impact your practice. Stay updated and informed about these interactions to provide the best patient care.

Delve into the changes in the updated Beers criteria and their implications for medication use in older patients. The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has recently revised the Beers criteria. Significantly, these guidelines advise physicians to be cautious when prescribing medications like warfarin and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for patients over 65. Importantly, warfarin is now a drug to avoid in initial therapy for venous thromboembolism or nonvalvular atrial fibrillation unless alternatives are contraindicated or face significant usage barriers. The Beers criteria are organized into five distinct categories. These include potentially inappropriate medications, ones that might be inappropriate for patients with certain conditions, medications requiring careful usage, potential drug-drug interactions, and medications needing renal function-based dosage adjustments. An expert panel sifted through evidence from June 1, 2017, to May 31, 2022, to create these updates. These guidelines apply to patients aged 65 years and older in most care settings in the US, excluding hospice and end-of-life care situations. Among the notable changes since 2019 is the inclusion of warfarin. For older patients using warfarin long-term, continuation might be reasonable if they show well-controlled international normalized ratios and no adverse effects. Additional drugs introduced since 2019 include ticagrelor and SGLT2 inhibitors (use […]

When atypical AMD is suspected, additional multimodal imaging and a more detailed medical history are required to establish the correct diagnosis. The medical history, clinical examination, and retinal imaging findings of a 69-year-old White man with a long-standing medical history of schizophrenia, bilateral visual decline, nyctalopia, and blurred vision were sufficient evidence for the doctors to establish a presumed diagnosis of thioridazine retinal toxicity. Although it is a rare diagnosis due to the introduction of newer medications, patients with an underlying psychiatric history and atypical retinal findings on examination may have been or are currently taking the culprit psychotropic medication.

Sibutramine, a serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, can cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure that may place individuals with cardiovascular disease at risk.

The authors speculate that pharmacogenomic testing can identify patients at higher risk for adverse events related to drug-drug and drug-gene interactions based on the 29-year-old man’s prescription list and gene testing results. Potential drug-drug interactions should also be investigated, and patients should be appropriately monitored for adverse reactions. Before performing pharmacogenomic testing, consider the severity of potential reactions, cost, and the possibility of using an alternative regimen that avoids the interaction of concern entirely. As more is learned about pharmacogenomics and the potential personalization of therapeutic regimens, clinical considerations that warrant testing should be evaluated on a regular basis to facilitate both resource stewardship and optimal patient care.

Misuse of prescription stimulants was associated with prior year treatment for depression, ADHD, and substance use disorder. Identified risk factors for stimulant misuse include use of prescription drugs in the past month (5.5 times increased risk) and use of illegal drugs in the past month (8 times higher risk).