August 2009
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jul		Sep »
	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Pharmacy Drugs

Random Posts

Archimedes Pharma Announces Ground Breaking Phase III Data Showing NasalFent To Be Superior To The Standard Of Care For Breakthrough Cancer Pain
Aging With GRACE: New Health Care Delivery Model Improves Outcomes, Saves Money
Tolerx Presents Data At 69th Scientific Sessions Of The American Diabetes Association
Wyeth Reports Publication Of Phase 3 Data For Bazedoxifene/Conjugated Estrogens
Pfizer's Oral JAK-3 Inhibitor Demonstrates Statistically Significant Response For Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis, New Phase 2 Studies Show
Total Laparoscopic Aortic Surgery Is Feasible, Shows Satisfactory Results
Stem Cell Study Seeks To Wean Non-Related Transplant Recipients From Anti-Rejection Drugs
Ligand Initiates Clinical Trial With The Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator LGD-4033, A Potential Treatment Of Muscle And Bone Disorders
In Newly Diagnosed Early Breast Cancer, MRI May Cause More Harm Than Good
FDA Approves Iloperidone for Schizophrenia

Potentially Dangerous Drug Interactions Missed By Prescribers

Posted by: admin in Pharmacy Drugs on August 29th, 2009

Research led by The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy has found that medication prescribers correctly identified fewer than half of drug pairs with potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions.

These findings raise concern because of the high number of drugs Americans take: an average of 2.3 medications is prescribed during each physician office visit.

A synopsis of the research was published in May Research Activities, a digest of research findings intended to contribute to the national policymaking process.

The researchers, led by Daniel Malone, PhD, professor at the UA College of Pharmacy, mailed a questionnaire to 12,500 U.S. prescribers who were selected based on a history of prescribing drugs associated with known potential for drug-drug interaction. Prescribers were primarily physicians, physicians’ assistants and nurse practitioners.

Recipients were asked to classify 14 drug pairs as “contraindicated,” “may be used together but with monitoring” or “no interaction.” Respondents could also state that they were “not sure.”

For the drug pairs, one commonly prescribed medication was matched with another commonly prescribed medication.

The 950 respondents classified 42.7 percent of all drug combinations correctly.

Of the 14 drug pairs presented, four of them were contraindicated, meaning they should not be used together. A majority of prescribers correctly identified only one of the four pairs as contraindicated.

Moreover, for half of the 14 drug pairs, more than one-third of the respondents answered that they were “not sure,” and two of these drug pairs were contraindicated.

“The study found a very low rate of recognition of these particular interactions,” says Malone, “and some of these interactions are very common.”

Use of several of the contraindicated drug pairs could be dangerous. For example, taking sildenafil (Viagra®) and nitrates, such as isosorbide mononitrate, can be life-threatening.

According to Malone, the research indicates that health professional programs are not doing enough to teach students about potential drug-drug interactions. Consequently, patients should be sure to tell their pharmacist of all the medications they are taking.