Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Sep 2002
Changing patterns of initial drug therapy for the treatment of hypertension in a Medicaid population, 1997-2000.
The US Joint National Committee (JNC) on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure recommended beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics as the drugs of first choice for the initial treatment of hypertension. ⋯ Although the use of calcium channel blockers as initial monotherapy for hypertension appears to have declined among Medicaid recipients in Maine since 1997, ACE inhibitors are still frequently prescribed for this purpose, especially among patients who have hypertension and congestive heart failure. These changes in drug utilization appear to reflect influence by the published JNC guidelines. However, there was still a large range of initial therapy across all drug classes not justified by published guidelines or outcome studies.
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Clinical therapeutics · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparison of the efficacy and safety of nonprescription doses of naproxen and naproxen sodium with ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and placebo in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a pooled analysis of five studies.
Dysmenorrhea is the most common menstrual complaint in young women, with a prevalence as high as 90%. It is responsible for substantial repeated short-term absenteeism from school and work in young women. Effective treatments are available, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In many countries, a variety of NSAIDs have become available as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. ⋯ When administered at OTC doses, naproxen was effective in the relief of pain and other symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea and had a good safety profile in the population studied.