The Canadian journal of clinical pharmacology = Journal canadien de pharmacologie clinique
-
Can J Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2000
ReviewCritical appraisal of drug therapy for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: II. Efficacy and safety of diclectin (doxylamine-B6).
Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy is the most common condition in pregnancy and affects up to 80% of all pregnant women. There are a large number of pharmacological agents that are effective for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with conditions such as motion sickness and gastrointestinal conditions; however, their use in pregnancy is limited by the lack of sufficient data on their potential teratogenic effects. The efficacy of the delayed-release combination of doxylamine and pyridoxine (Bendectin, Diclectin) has been shown in several randomized, controlled trials. The present review aims to refute the unsubstantiated beliefs that Diclectin is unsafe when used in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.
-
Can J Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2000
Antidote availability in Quebec hospital pharmacies: impact of N-acetylcysteine and naloxone consumption.
To study the availability of 13 specific antidotes in hospitals and correlate the availability of those antidotes to the number of poisonings seen in hospitals using N-acetylcysteine and naloxone consumption as a surrogate. ⋯ Larger hospitals are more likely to have adequate stocks of antidotes. Adequate stocking of antidotes is significantly correlated with the amount of N-acetyl- cysteine and naloxone consumed. This suggests that hospitals more likely to see serious acetaminophen and opiate poisonings are more likely to maintain adequate stocks of antidotes.
-
Can J Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2000
New drug approval times and 'therapeutic potential' in Canada, Australia, Sweden and the United States during the period 1992 to 1998.
In two previous studies, the times required to approve new drugs in Canada, Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States during the periods 1992 to 1995 and 1996 to 1998 were compared. However, during each of these two periods, only a fraction of the drugs that were approved in any of the countries were approved in all of them. Because an analysis based solely on drugs approved in all the countries would provide additional information, data from the previous studies have been used to compare drugs approved in each of Canada, Australia, Sweden and the United States during the period 1992 to 1998. ⋯ In both the priority and standard review categories, the Australian and Canadian median approval times were significantly longer than those in Sweden and the United States. The results demonstrate that, in general, both priority and standard new drug applications are reviewed more expeditiously in Sweden and the United States than in Canada. Canadian patients continue to experience delayed access to potentially valuable medicines.
-
Can J Clin Pharmacol · Jan 2000
Attitudes and practices of physicians and naturopaths toward herbal products, including use during pregnancy and lactation.
The popularity of complementary therapies continues to grow, and physicians are asked increasingly by their patients for information regarding these modalities. ⋯ Complementary medicine has become a reality, and physicians are recommending herbal products to their patients, although on a smaller scale than are naturopaths. However, the two most popular herbal products are the same in each group. Physicians are less likely to recommend herbal products to pregnant and breastfeeding women than are naturopaths.