The Annals of pharmacotherapy
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To describe the current drug interaction profiles for the commonly used macrolides in the US and Europe, and to comment on the clinical impact of these interactions. ⋯ Most of the available data regarding macrolide drug interactions are from studies in healthy volunteers and case reports. These data suggest that clarithromycin appears to have an interaction profile similar to that of erythromycin. Given this similarity, it is important to consider the interaction profile of clarithromycin when using erythromycin. This is especially necessary as funds for further studies of a medication available in generic form (e.g., erythromycin) are limited. Azithromycin has produced few clinically significant interactions with any agent cleared through the cytochrome P450 enzyme system. Although the available data are promising, the final test should come from studies conducted in patients who are taking potentially interacting compounds on a chronic basis.
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To determine the safety of using angiotensin II receptor blockers in patients who have experienced angioedema following treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. ⋯ Until the exact cause of both ACE inhibitor- and angiotensin II receptor blocker-induced angioedema is determined, angiotensin II receptor blockers should be used with extreme caution in patients with a prior history of angioedema.
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To determine the impact of two different recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa) dosing strategies on the number of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, and explore relationships between specific patient and drug regimen variables with epoetin alfa therapy outcomes. ⋯ Epoetin alfa dosing strategy, as defined in our study, did not significantly affect the number of transfusions. However, postnatal age at therapy initiation, postconceptional age at therapy discontinuation, mean epoetin alfa dosage, and iron dosage correlate with specific outcomes of epoetin alfa therapy in premature infants.