European journal of clinical pharmacology
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jul 2015
Prescription pain medications and chronic headache in Denmark: implications for preventing medication overuse.
The aim of the present paper is to study which prescription pain medications are most commonly dispensed to people with chronic headache (CH), particularly those with medication-overuse headache (MOH). ⋯ High prevalence of opioid use among people with CH may be due to inappropriate headache treatment or development of MOH among those treated for other pain conditions. While there were cases of triptan overuse, triptans remain underutilized among those with CH, suggesting that migraine may be under-recognized and inappropriately treated, leading to overuse of other medications. Education of physicians on appropriate headache management is essential for MOH prevention. There is a need to increase universal awareness about MOH as an adverse effect of long-term analgesic use.
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jul 2015
Atropinic burden of prescriptions forms in patients with Alzheimer disease: a cross-sectional study in a French PharmacoVigilance Database.
Atropinic drugs in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) can decrease the effects of anticholinesterase drugs and/or induce adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Several atropinic risk scales defining an atropinic burden of drugs were proposed but were little used in AD patients. ⋯ The present work found an association between an atropinic drug and an anticholinesterase agent in around 1 out of 2 AD patients and a clinically significant atropinic burden (≥ 3) in around 1 to 2 AD patients out of 10. The benefit harm balance of atropinic drugs must be discussed before each prescription in AD patients.
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jul 2015
Multicenter StudyThe EU(7)-PIM list: a list of potentially inappropriate medications for older people consented by experts from seven European countries.
The aim of the study was to develop a European list of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) for older people, which can be used for the analysis and comparison of prescribing patterns across European countries and for clinical practice. ⋯ The European Union (EU)(7)-PIM list is a screening tool, developed with participation of experts from seven European countries, that allows identification and comparison of PIM prescribing patterns for older people across European countries. It can also be used as a guide in clinical practice, although it does not substitute the decision-making process of individualised prescribing for older people. Further research is needed to investigate the feasibility and applicability and, finally, the clinical benefits of the newly developed list.
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jul 2015
Analysis of evidence supporting the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina reimbursement medicines lists: role of the WHO Essential Medicines List, Cochrane systematic reviews and technology assessment reports.
We compared recently introduced Basic Medicines Lists of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) (FBH Basic Lists (FBLs)) with the World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Medicines List (EML) and the evidence supporting the inclusion of additional medicines on FBLs. ⋯ In circumstances of scarce financial resources, greater reliance on well-established, proven list is crucial. Independent, unbiased, high-quality evidence such as WHO EML, CSR and HTA reports (national or international with local adaptations) should be used when deciding on medicine reimbursement.