Prescrire international
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Prescrire international · Nov 2011
ReviewAnalgesia for terminally ill adult patients. Preserve quality of life.
Adequate pain management is crucial in maintaining the best possible quality of life for terminally ill patients. This article examines pain management in the palliative care setting, based on a review of the literature using the standard Prescrire methodology. Accurate pain evaluation, preferably by the patient, is essential for guiding treatment decisions. ⋯ Cannabinoids are another option but have not been adequately assessed. Localised refractory pain may respond to local anaesthesia, chemical neurolysis or surgical ablation. In practice, it is best to allow patients to control their own analgesic consumption, within limits set by their physician to prevent dosing errors.
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Prescrire international · Oct 2011
ReviewTreatment of Parkinson's disease. Psychological disorders: striking a balance in order to optimise antiparkinsonian treatment.
Parkinson's disease is frequently associated with psychological disorders, especially depression, psychotic disorders, and dementia. We examined the management of psychological disorders in Parkinson's disease, including the use of psychotropic drugs, by reviewing the literature using the standard Prescrire methodology. About one-third of patients with Parkinson's disease experience visual hallucinations. ⋯ Cholinesterase inhibitors have a negative harm-benefit balance in this setting. When a Parkinson's patient presents with a psychological disorder, the first step is to optimise antiparkinsonian treatment by striking a balance between motor control and psychological adverse effects. In the few situations in which drug treatment is likely to be beneficial, it should be remembered that psychotropic drugs are at best only moderately effective and should be used with care, monitoring patients for adverse effects.
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Several revascularisation methods are effective in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Standard antithrombotic treatment combines heparin and aspirin during the acute phase, followed by long-term aspirin therapy. The only proven advantage of adding clopidogrel is for patients who undergo angioplasty with stenting. ⋯ Pharmacodynamic interactions are also likely to occur, especially with antithrombotic agents and heart-rate-lowering drugs. In practice, in patients with an acute coronary syndrome treated with angioplasty and stenting, and who are also receiving aspirin, it remains to be shown whether the harm-benefit balance of ticagrelor is clearly better than that of clopidogrel. In other settings, there is no firm evidence that ticagrelor is better than aspirin alone.
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Prescrire international · Sep 2011
ReviewNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: add an anti-ulcer drug for patients at high risk only. Always limit the dose and duration of treatment with NSAIDs.
In addition to their cardiac, renal, hepatic, cutaneous and neuropsychological adverse effects, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can have severe effects on the entire gastrointestinal tract, including bleeding, perforation and occlusion. Which anti-ulcer drugs reduce the risk of the severe gastrointestinal adverse effects of NSAIDs, and which patients should receive them? To answer these questions, we conducted a review of the literature, using the standard Prescrire methodology. The main risk factors for severe gastrointestinal adverse effects during NSAID therapy are: a high dose regimen; age over 65 years; a history of gastric or duodenal ulcer or gastrointestinal bleeding; heavy use of both alcohol and tobacco; and concomitant treatment with a corticosteroid, antiplatelet drug, anticoagulant, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. ⋯ In practice, anti-ulcer drugs are not sufficiently effective to warrant their use by NSAID-treated adults who are not at high risk of severe gastrointestinal events. Misoprostol has proven efficacy in patients with risk factors for NSAID-induced severe gastroduodenal adverse effects, especially patients over 65 years of age, but it also has frequent adverse effects and necessitates 4 daily doses. Omeprazole is an alternative when the adverse effects or dosing frequency of misoprostol are unacceptable, provided patients are warned not to increase their NSAID consumption.
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Prescrire international · Jun 2011
2010 drug packaging review: identifying problems to prevent errors.
Prescrire's analyses showed that the quality of drug packaging in 2010 still left much to be desired. Potentially dangerous packaging remains a significant problem: unclear labelling is source of medication errors; dosing devices for some psychotropic drugs create a risk of overdose; child-proof caps are often lacking; and too many patient information leaflets are misleading or difficult to understand. Everything that is needed for safe drug packaging is available; it is now up to regulatory agencies and drug companies to act responsibly. In the meantime, health professionals can help their patients by learning to identify the pitfalls of drug packaging and providing safe information to help prevent medication errors.