The Annals of pharmacotherapy
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To evaluate the efficacy of gabapentin for the treatment of uremic pruritus (UP). ⋯ Available data support the use of gabapentin as a well-tolerated and effective treatment option for patients with UP who are unresponsive to traditional therapies. Further well-designed trials are warranted to establish the most appropriate dosing regimen in patients on HD.
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To review the rationale, clinical practice guideline recommendations, and clinical trial data describing bleeding and clinical outcomes associated with the use of the combination of aspirin, a thienopyridine, and warfarin. ⋯ Available guidelines pertaining to the concomitant administration of aspirin, a thienopyridine, and warfarin are based on limited trial data and consensus judgment. Overall, selection of triple antithrombotic therapy for patients with vascular disease is considered a matter of clinical judgment for an individual patient based on the prescriber's perceived balance between the patient's risk for recurrent ischemic events, expected duration of treatment, and patient's risk for bleeding.
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Review
Ceftobiprole: an extended-spectrum anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus cephalosporin.
To summarize and evaluate the literature concerning ceftobiprole. ⋯ The activity of ceftobiprole and limited clinical data suggest that it may be useful as empiric monotherapy for cSSSI and in combination with other antimicrobials in lower respiratory tract infections for which Phase 3 clinical trials are currently exploring. Although not shown in vitro, ceftobiprole may induce resistance due to its broad spectrum of activity. Approval is expected for the treatment of cSSSI.
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There has been an increasing international trend toward the delivery of cognitive pharmaceutical services (CPS) in community pharmacy. CPS have been developed and disseminated individually, without a framework underpinning their implementation and with limited knowledge of factors that might assist practice change. The implementation process is complex, involving a range of internal and external factors. ⋯ All of the factors demonstrated good reliability and construct validity and explained approximately half of the variance. Implementing CPS requires support not only with the clinical aspects of service delivery, but also for the process of implementation itself, and remuneration models must reflect this. The identified facilitators should be used in a multilevel strategy to integrate professional services into the community pharmacy business, engaging pharmacists and their staff, policy makers, educators, and researchers. Further research is required to determine additional factors impacting the capacity of community pharmacies to implement change.
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To describe the treatment pathway and patterns of clozapine use in patients with schizophrenia, including coprescribed psychotropic medications, and compare the extent of coprescribing of clozapine with that of non-clozapine schizophrenia treatment in community mental health services in the Auckland and Northland regions of New Zealand. ⋯ Outpatients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia were prescribed clozapine at expected rates; however, treatment was delayed longer than recommended. There is some evidence that access to clozapine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia has improved, possibly as the result of the introduction of government subsidy, guideline dissemination, or increasing experience of clinicians with use of clozapine. In this real-world environment, the number of concomitant psychotropic medications for outpatients with schizophrenia was found to be low; when used concomitantly with clozapine, they were most commonly used to manage adverse effects.