American journal of hospital pharmacy
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Available clinical data on the use of oral ondansetron for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy or surgery are reviewed. Injectable ondansetron hydrochloride is very effective in preventing nausea and vomiting associated with even the most emetogenic antineoplastic drugs. In December 1992, 4- and 8-mg oral tablets (ondansetron hydrochloride dihydrate) became available. ⋯ Oral ondansetron is more effective than placebo in preventing post-operative nausea and vomiting in gynecologic surgery patients; however, there have been no comparative studies, and routine use of antiemetics in most surgical patients may be unnecessary because newer anesthetics are less emetogenic. Although the adverse effects of oral ondansetron are milder than those of standard antiemetics, this may not compensate for the drug's high cost. Oral ondansetron is not superior to traditional antiemetics for the prevention of nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy or surgery.
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The effect of a psychopharmacy consultation service on outcomes in patients with psychiatric disorders was studied. The medical records of 30 randomly selected patients who had been hospitalized between August 1990 and July 1992 at a private psychiatric institution and who had been seen by the psychopharmacy consultation service during that period were reviewed. Data obtained included (1) patient demographics, (2) patient information generated by the psychopharmacy consultation, (3) the types of recommendations made by the psychopharmacy specialist and whether the recommendations were accepted by the physician, and (4) the clinical outcome. ⋯ For the majority group, 23 (79%) of the 29 consultations were associated with a positive outcome, compared with 2 (14%) of the 14 consultations in the less-than-majority group. Similarly, positive outcomes were significantly more frequent in the majority-group patients (16/21 [76%]) than in the less-than-majority-group patients (2/9 [22%]). The frequency of positive outcomes was higher among patients for whom most of the recommendations of a clinical psychopharmacy consultation service were accepted than among patients for whom most recommendations were not accepted.
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The stability of lorazepam 0.1 mg/mL in three intravenous infusion solutions in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyolefin bags at 37, 24, 4, and -20 degrees C was evaluated over seven days of storage. Triplicate test solutions of lorazepam 0.1 mg/mL in 50-mL PVC bags and 50-mL polyolefin bags containing 0.9% sodium chloride injection, 5% dextrose injection, and lactated Ringer's injection were prepared and stored at 37, 24, and 4 degrees C. Samples were removed initially and at various times over seven days and analyzed for lorazepam content. ⋯ After seven days at 4 degrees C, 8-9% was lost from 0.9% sodium chloride injection and 5% dextrose injection. At 24 degrees C, 17% was lost in 24 hours; at 37 degrees C, 27-29% was lost in 24 hours. About 10% of the lorazepam was lost from the lactated Ringer's solution in PVC bags after three days at 4 degrees C; 25% was lost in 24 hours at 24 degrees C; and 25% was lost in eight hours at 37 degrees C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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The stability of baclofen in an extemporaneously compounded oral liquid formulation for 35 days was studied. A suspension was prepared by grinding commercially available 20-mg baclofen tablets and adding Glycerin, USP, to form a paste. Simple Syrup, NF, was added as necessary to make a final volume of 60 mL. ⋯ On day 35, the mean percentages of the initial baclofen concentrations remaining were 95.9% in the suspension and 95.6% in the solution. The color, odor, and pH of the samples did not change appreciably over the study period. In an extemporaneously compounded oral liquid preparation in Simple Syrup, NF, stored in the dark under refrigeration, baclofen was stable for at least 35 days.