European journal of clinical pharmacology
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Dec 2012
Complementary or alternative? Patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among Finnish children.
The aim of this study was to measure patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among Finnish children and to explore whether CAM use among children is mainly complementary or alternative. ⋯ Our results indicate that the use of CAMs among Finnish children is mainly for improving health and alleviating symptoms, especially in families where at least one parent also uses these modalities. CAMs were mainly used as complementary rather than as an alternative to conventional care. Healthcare professionals should be aware of this complementary use of CAMs and medicines in patients to avoid risks of potential interactions.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Nov 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyIntravenous buspirone for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Buspirone, a partial 5HT(1A) agonist and D₂ and D₃ antagonist, has shown promising antiemetic efficacy when given parenterally in animal models, but its efficacy for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is unknown. ⋯ We were unable to show that intravenous single-dose buspirone, at the tested dose-range, was effective at preventing PONV in surgical adult patients. The present study emphasises the difficulty in extrapolating from animal models of emesis to clinical efficacy in PONV.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Nov 2012
Comparative StudyParacetamol toxicity: What would be the implications of a change in UK treatment guidelines?
Treatment of single-time-point ingestion acute paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is guided by plotting a timed plasma paracetamol concentration on established nomograms. Guidelines in the UK differ from those in the U.S. and Australasia by having two treatment lines on the nomogram. Patients deemed to be at 'normal' risk of hepatotoxicity are treated using the treatment line starting at 200 mg/L at 4 h post-ingestion; those at higher risk are treated using the 'high risk' treatment line starting at 100 mg/L at 4 h post-ingestion. ⋯ Both a 100 line and a 150/75 line would result in a large increase in the number of patients being treated and an associated increase in the costs of treatment. A single 150 mg/L treatment line would simplify treatment algorithms and lead to a similar number of patients being treated with NAC overall. A potential concern however is whether any of the high risk cases that would no longer be treated might develop significant hepatotoxicity. After consideration of the evidence for dual treatment lines, we feel that these risks are small and that it is worth reconsidering a change of treatment recommendations to a single 150 line.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Nov 2012
Exposure to medicines among patients admitted for hip fracture and the case-fatality rate at 1 year: a longitudinal study.
To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics and the pre-fracture exposure to medicines of patients admitted for a hip fracture, and to explore their association with fatal outcome 1 year after the fracture. ⋯ One-quarter of patients admitted for hip fracture died within 1 year after the fracture. Exposure to opiates before hip fracture was associated with an increased 1-year death rate, whereas treatment with drugs for osteoporosis was associated with a decrease in death rate. These results should be confirmed in studies with detailed prospective collection of information on exposure to medicines.