Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Aug 2004
Pharmaceutical pricing, price controls, and their effects on pharmaceutical sales and research and development expenditures in the European Union.
Each country in the European Union (EU) currently employs direct price controls or permutations of direct price controls, such as reference pricing or limitations on returns to capital. Some countries also use volume controls. A new proposal that is being discussed would have all of the countries in the EU adopt uniform pricing for each pharmaceutical. ⋯ Economic efficiency is maximized in both the short run and long run when prices are set in freely competitive markets. An additional important dimension of Ramsey pricing within a competitive context is that it generates funds for investment in pharmaceutical research and development, which enhances economic efficiency in the long run.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2004
Case ReportsNeuroleptic malignant syndrome associated with ziprasidone in an adolescent.
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare but potentially fatal disorder characterized by fever, muscular rigidity, delirium, and autonomic instability. Although the classic presentation of NMS has been most commonly associated with the typical neuroleptic medications, sporadic cases in association with atypical neuroleptic medications have been reported. ⋯ We present this case to alert physicians of the possibility of NMS in adolescent patients treated with ziprasidone.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialEvaluation of a low-dose lidocaine iontophoresis system for topical anesthesia in adults and children: a randomized, controlled trial.
Commonly used classes of topical anesthetics require 30 to 60 minutes to provide effective anesthesia. A new low-dose lidocaine iontophoresis system (LDLIS) may provide topical anesthesia in 10 minutes at a lower dose than previous systems, thereby limiting adverse events. ⋯ In this study of adults and children, the LDLIS provided effective topical anesthesia for venipuncture and venous cannulation within 10 minutes.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialComparison of cizolirtine citrate and metamizol sodium in the treatment of adult acute renal colic: a randomized, double-blind, clinical pilot study.
Renal colic causes excruciating pain that provides a good clinical model of acute pain for the development of new analgesics. ⋯ Although this limited pilot study did not include an internal measure of sensitivity, relevant pain reduction was shown in the population of patients with suspected renal colic undergoing treatment with cizolirtine, suggesting the presence of analgesic activity. However, the efficacy of cizolirtine was found to be similar to that of metamizol. Treatments were well tolerated.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialOnset of analgesia and analgesic efficacy of tramadol/acetaminophen and codeine/acetaminophen/ibuprofen in acute postoperative pain: a single-center, single-dose, randomized, active-controlled, parallel-group study in a dental surgery pain model.
The combination of tramadol and acetaminophen has demonstrated good efficacy in various clinical pain models. However, there is a need for comparisons of the onset of analgesia and other measures of analgesic efficacy with this combination and other strong combination analgesics for the management of acute pain. ⋯ In this small and selected group of subjects, the onset of analgesia and analgesic efficacy of Tr/Ac was comparable to that of Co/Ac/Ib. Tr/Ac provided rapid and effective analgesia for acute postoperative dental pain in this population.