Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Dec 2008
Multicenter StudyA US multicenter, retrospective, observational study of erythropoiesis-stimulating agent utilization in anemic, critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit.
Anemia is a common comorbid condition among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Darbepoietin alfa and epoetin alfa are erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) used to manage anemia in the ICU, although neither drug has an indication in critically ill patients. ⋯ Based on these results, it is apparent that the practice patterns associated with ESA treatment of critically ill patients admitted to the ICU between February 2005 and September 2005 were highly variable.
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Clinical therapeutics · Dec 2008
Perception of prescription medicine sample packs among Australian professional, government, industry, and consumer organizations, based on automated textual analysis of one-on-one interviews.
Prescription medicine samples provided by pharmaceutical companies are predominantly newer and more expensive products. The range of samples provided to practices may not represent the drugs that the doctors desire to have available. Few studies have used a qualitative design to explore the reasons behind sample use. ⋯ Participants recognized that prescription medicine samples have an influence on quality use of medicines and play a role in the marketing of medicines. They also believed that alternative distribution systems for samples could provide benefits. The cost of a noncommercial system for distributing samples or starter packs was a concern. These data will be used to design further research investigating alternative models for distribution of samples.
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Clinical therapeutics · Dec 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyComparison of the effectiveness and tolerability of lidocaine patch 5% versus celecoxib for osteoarthritis-related knee pain: post hoc analysis of a 12 week, prospective, randomized, active-controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial in adults.
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitors and nonselective NSAIDs are commonly used to treat osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. ⋯ Statistically significant differences in effectiveness and tolerability were not found between these 2 treatments in these patients with OA knee pain.
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Clinical therapeutics · Dec 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialIntuitiveness, instruction time, and patient acceptance of a prefilled insulin delivery device and a reusable insulin delivery device in a randomized, open-label, crossover handling study in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Because the use of insulin therapy can place a substantial burden on patients with diabetes, insulin administration should be as simple as possible. ⋯ In this study, when all handling steps were included, the FP device was associated with significantly greater intuitiveness and a shorter injection time compared with the HL device. Further research is needed to determine whether these differences between devices are clinically meaningful.
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Clinical therapeutics · Dec 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyBioequivalence and comparison of pharmacokinetic properties of 4-mg tablet formulations of rosiglitazone hydrochloride and rosiglitazone maleate: a single-dose, randomized, open-label, two-period crossover study in healthy adult male Chinese volunteers.
Rosiglitazone is an insulin-sensitizing oral thiazolidinedione used for treating patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. There are 9 oral generic and branded formulations of rosiglitazone available in the People's Republic of China (PRC); however, a literature search did not identify any published data concerning the bioavailability of these formulations in the Chinese population. ⋯ In this small study in these healthy adult male Chinese volunteers, a single 4-mg dose of rosiglitazone hydrochloride appeared to be bioequivalent to rosiglitazone maleate, according to the regulatory definition, based on the rate and extent of absorption. Both formulations were well tolerated.