Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Oct 2017
ReviewAn update on new antibiotic prophylaxis and treatment for urinary tract infections in children.
This review focuses on the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI) in children and in particular its recent changes. Areas covered: Acute pyelonephritis, acute cystitis and asymptomatic bacteriuria or asymptomatic infections have to be clearly distinguished. Prompt treatment is required in pyelonephritis and cystitis, but not in asymptomatic bacteriuria or infection, in order to avoid selection of more virulent strains. ⋯ Therefore overconsumption in low-risk settings should be absolutely avoided. The prevalence of infections with E. coli producing extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) is increasing and pediatricians should be aware about the specific treatment options. Any recommendation about (initial) antibiotic treatment should be regularly updated and adapted to local resistance profiles and to economic factors in different health systems.
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Sep 2017
ReviewLuteininzing hormone releasing hormones analogs in combination with tamoxifen for the adjuvant treatment of premenopausal women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer.
The role of ovarian function suppression (OFS) through luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists (LHRHa) in addition to tamoxifen has been questioned until recently. In 2015, two large clinical trials led to a paradigm shift in the adjuvant endocrine treatment of premenopausal women, introducing the use of LHRHa plus tamoxifen (or aromatase inhibitor, AI) into current clinical practice. Areas covered: The present review aims to provide an in-depth overview of the role of LHRHa+tamoxifen for the adjuvant treatment of premenopausal women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer (HR+BC). ⋯ To date, no clear recommendations are available for the choice between LHRHa+tamoxifen and LHRH+AI. Although recent data showed better DFS with LHRHa+AI, other issues should be considered: 1) approximately 20 out of 100 women do not reach complete OFS with LHRHa+AI; 2) there is no extended endocrine therapy option that can be applied to women who received 5 years of LHRHa+AI and remained premenopausal at the end of the fifth year. Long-term results of the SOFT-TEXT study are needed to establish if LHRHa+AI is superior to LHRHa+tamoxifen.
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Aug 2017
ReviewCurrent and developing synthetic pharmacotherapy for treating relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
The introduction of novel agents has significantly improved multiple myeloma (MM) patient outcome during the last two decades. MM received the most drug approvals for any one malignancy during this time period, both in the United States as well as in Europe. Areas covered: Proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, and monoclonal antibodies are prototype drug classes, which target both specific MM cell functions, as well as the tumor supportive bone marrow microenvironment, and represent current cornerstones of MM therapy. ⋯ Moreover, developing strategies will be discussed that are likely to yet improve patient outcome even further. Expert opinion: Despite significant therapeutic advancements, MM remains an incurable disease. With several novel agents in the preclinical and early clinical pipeline, among those novel CD38 and BCMA mAbs, immune checkpoint inhibitors, as well as ricolinostat, selinexor, venetoclax, CAR-T cells, and vaccines, further advances in MM patient outcome are expected in the near future.
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Aug 2017
ReviewVonoprazan fumarate for the management of acid-related diseases.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) display a number of limitations and unmet clinical needs that have prompted the development of novel drugs to improve the outcomes of acid-related diseases, including the eradication of H. pylori. In this context, a new synthesized potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB), vonoprazan, showed higher suppression of gastric acid secretion. ⋯ Recent evidence suggests that vonoprazan can be preferred to PPIs as maintenance therapy for reflux esophagitis and eradication of Helicobacter pylori owing to its stronger antisecretory effect. Moreover, vonoprazan displays favorable safety and tolerability profiles, even though long-term studies on the effects of vonoprazan are required.
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Expert Opin Pharmacother · Jul 2017
ReviewPharmacotherapy for community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an increasing problem in the elderly that is associated with elevated morbidity and mortality. Given the expected increased life expectancy, this problem is only likely to worsen, so it has been considered that treatment effects must be examined separately in elderly adults with CAP. Areas covered: In this narrative review, we give an update of the available data of antibiotics for elderly patients with CAP. ⋯ Current guidelines do not offer specific recommendations for the management of CAP in elderly patients. Expert opinion: Most of our knowledge about the treatment of CAP in elderly patients has been gained from studies in young populations. However, elderly patients with CAP deserve special attention because there are several factors in this population that could influence their response to antibiotic regimens in CAP.