European journal of clinical pharmacology
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · May 2011
Medication incidents reported to an online incident reporting system.
Approximately 20% of deaths from adverse events are related to medication incidents, costing the NHS an additional £500 million annually. Less than 5% of adverse events are reported. This study aims to assess the reporting rate of medication incidents in NHS facilities in the north east of Scotland, and to describe the types and outcomes of reported incidents among different services. Furthermore, we wished to quantify the proportion of reported incidents according to the reporters' profession. ⋯ The majority of medication incidents in this study were reported by nursing and midwifery staff, and were due to administration incidents. There is a clear need to elucidate the reasons for the limited contribution of the medical and dental professionals to reporting medication incidents.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Apr 2011
Clinical TrialFlip-flop kinetics of ropivacaine during continuous epidural infusion influences its accumulation rate.
Ropivacaine has an optimal toxicity profile for epidural anesthesia in adults, but there are currently no studies concerning its pharmacokinetics during continuous infusion. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and safety of ropivacaine in adults during a 48-h continuous epidural infusion. ⋯ Exposure to ropivacaine during epidural infusion is highly variable. The apparent infusion dosing half-life t(1/2,DP) is the most appropriate parameter to predict drug accumulation upon epidural infusion since it appears to better reflect the interplay interference between volume distribution and absorption rate during the accumulation phase. Prediction of ropivacaine accumulation can be improved by considering patient age.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Mar 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyInteraction between acetaminophen and warfarin in adults receiving long-term oral anticoagulants: a randomized controlled trial.
We investigated whether acetaminophen, given at 2 g/day and 3 g/day might potentiate the anticoagulant effect of warfarin. ⋯ Acetaminophen, at 2 g/day or 3 g/day, enhanced the anticoagulant effect of warfarin in stable patients, thus requiring close INR monitoring in the clinical setting.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Mar 2011
Comparative StudyMultiple outcomes associated with the use of metformin and sulphonylureas in type 2 diabetes: a population-based cohort study in Italy.
To compare the effect of metformin and sulphonylureas on the risks of switching to insulin therapy, hospitalisation for macrovascular disease and all-cause mortality. ⋯ Our study provides evidence that the risks of switching to insulin, hospitalisation because of macrovascular events and death changes according to the first prescribed oral hypoglycaemic agent, as well as to the early compliance and persistence with such agent.
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Mar 2011
Adverse events following immunization in children: retrospective analysis of spontaneous reports over a decade.
There is no doubt that paediatric immunization prevents serious diseases, but the administration of these vaccines to healthy children also involves risks of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), some of which are potentially serious. The current body of evidence on ADRs from immunization therapy at the population level is partly contradictory across countries, time periods and childhood immunization programmes. The objective of our study was to characterize reported adverse events (AEFIs) following immunization in Danish children. ⋯ In Denmark, a large number of AEFIs following paediatric immunization have been reported, but the majority of cases were non-serious.