Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Dec 2002
Frequency of use of acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and aspirin in US women.
To determine the frequency of use of the three main classes of over-the-counter analgesics: acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and aspirin in two large US female cohorts. ⋯ Analgesic use is very common among US women. Physicians should be cognizant of the frequency of use of the various over-the-counter analgesics in their female patient population.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Oct 2002
The nature and frequency of potential warfarin drug interactions that increase the risk of bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation.
To determine the frequency with which atrial fibrillation (AF) patients receiving warfarin are prescribed interacting drugs that could increase bleeding risks. ⋯ AF patients discharged on warfarin were frequently prescribed concomitant medications that increase bleeding risks. These patients should be closely monitored and counseled to watch for signs of bleeding.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Oct 2002
Comparative StudyAnalgesic use for postoperative pain: differences arise when comparing departments of surgery.
The goal of the study is to analyse whether the analgesic therapy of postoperative pain during the first 2 days after surgery differs among the different surgical departments. ⋯ The treatment of postoperative pain differs among the surgical departments, especially regarding analgesic schedules and completeness of analgesic orders. Analgesic therapy may often be based more on customary habits than on the patients' pain intensity.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Sep 2002
Postmarketing drug dosage changes of 499 FDA-approved new molecular entities, 1980-1999.
Risks and benefits of marketed drugs can be improved by changing their labels to optimize dosage regimens for indicated populations. Such postmarketing label changes may reflect the quality of pre-marketing development, regulatory review, and postmarketing surveillance. We documented dosage changes of FDA-approved new molecular entities (NMEs), and investigated trends over time and across therapeutic groups, on the premise that improved drug development methods have yielded fewer postmarketing label changes over time. ⋯ Dosages of one in five NMEs changed, four in five changes were safety reductions. Increasing frequency of changes, independent of therapeutic group, may reflect intensified postmarketing surveillance and underscores the need to improve pre-marketing optimization of dosage and indicated population.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Sep 2002
Comparative StudyPresence of pharmacoepidemiology in three bibliographic databases: Medline, IPA and SCI.
The objective of this study is to make a comparative description of the evolution and distribution of international research into pharmacoepidemiology, using three bibliographic databases, in order to select the most appropriate for future bibliometric studies. ⋯ International research into pharmacoepidemiology presents an exponential growth pattern, in accordance with Price's law. There is a large degree of publishing dispersion. IPA was found to be the bibliographic database that recovered the greatest number of original articles, nearly half of which were published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. We therefore consider the latter database appropriate for bibliometric studies in the field of pharmacoepidemiology.