Journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
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To describe sore throat management by primary care physicians in Poland. ⋯ Primary care physicians in Poland tend to prescribe antibiotics for sore throats even for patients with a low risk of bacterial infection when influenced by factors like repeat visits of the patient or young age. Avoiding antibiotics in such low risk of bacterial infection patients is an important and achievable goal.
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Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic in widespread use throughout the world. Although there is extensive preclinical, clinical, post-marketing and epidemiological data indicating relatively low--but not zero--abuse/dependence, questions continue to arise about its abuse potential and appropriate regulatory classification. This article considers these questions from the point of view of the basic pharmacology of tramadol. There is nothing unique about tramadol in this regard, but its multimodal mechanism of action, pharmacologically active enantiomers, and active metabolite make it a particularly instructive and relevant example.
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Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are preventable medication errors associated with potentially serious adverse events and death. Several studies have examined the prevalence of potential DDIs among ambulatory patients in various countries. Limited recent data on the prevalence of potential DDIs in Italy are available in the medical literature. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of clinically important potential DDIs among the approximately 4 million residents of Regione Emilia-Romagna (RER), Italy, and to examine possible predictors of potential DDI exposure. ⋯ A substantial number of clinically important potential DDIs were identified, particularly among warfarin users. Awareness of the most prevalent potential DDIs can help practitioners prevent concomitant use of these dangerous medication combinations.