Aust Prescr
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The National Return and Disposal of Unwanted Medicines Program provides a free and safe method for the disposal of unwanted and expired medicines. This stops drugs being dumped in landfill and waterways. An audit showed that over 600 tonnes of medicines are returned through the program. ⋯ Prescribe no more than the required quantity of medicines. When starting a new therapy, prescribe a minimal quantity in case the drug is unsuitable for the patient. Advise patients to return all unwanted medicines to a pharmacy for disposal.
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Azithromycin is a broad-spectrum macrolide antibiotic with a long half-life and excellent tissue penetration. It is primarily used for the treatment of respiratory, enteric and genitourinary infections and may be used in preference to other macrolides for some sexually transmitted and enteric infections. ⋯ Potential major adverse effects include cardiovascular arrhythmias and hearing loss. Macrolide resistance is also a problem, as are interactions with commonly prescribed drugs.
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A major change is needed in the entrenched culture of routinely administering high-concentration oxygen to acutely ill patients regardless of need. Oxygen is a drug that should be prescribed for specific indications. There should be a documented target range for oxygen saturation, and regular monitoring of the patient's response. ⋯ Oxygen therapy should therefore be titrated so that the saturation is within a range that avoids these risks. If oxygen requirements are increasing, the clinician should review the patient and consider transfer to a higher level of care. If oxygen requirements are decreasing, consider reducing or discontinuing oxygen therapy.
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The treatment and outcomes for people with metastatic melanoma have changed considerably in the past few years with the introduction of targeted anticancer drugs. About half of the patients with metastatic melanoma will have activating mutations in the BRAF gene. These people may benefit from a BRAF inhibitor (vemurafenib or dabrafenib) or a MEK inhibitor (trametinib). ⋯ Ipilimumab is another drug indicated for metastatic melanoma. It works by altering the patient's own immune response to the tumour. Toxicities are common with these drugs and include arthralgias, fatigue, photosensitivity, squamous cell carcinomas, fever, diarrhoea, pruritus and immune-related adverse effects.
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Complex regional pain syndrome is an uncommon chronic pain condition. It develops spontaneously or following an injury. The features are limb pain, allodynia, hypersensitivity, hyperalgesia, abnormalities of the vasomotor, sudomotor and motor systems, and trophic changes, with reduced use of the affected limb. ⋯ Other treatments with some evidence of effectiveness include corticosteroids, calcitonin and bisphosphonates. Vitamin C has been used for primary prevention after wrist fracture and upper and lower limb surgery. There is no evidence that it is effective for treating established complex regional pain syndrome.