Drug updates: March

Around 400 patients with advanced breast cancer will now be able to benefit from a new treatment after the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published final draft guidance...

Prescribing for panic disorder

When a person has a panic disorder, it is useful to be able to spot it when they first mention their symptoms. Not only is there a role for prescribing but there may be other options to keep the...

Mandatory vaccinations for NHS staff under consultation

January of this year saw the publication of NHS England's Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment (VCOD) for Healthcare Workers-Phase 2 (Implementation) (NHS England, 2022).

Diabetes remission and diet data

Diabetes can stem from obesity, with increasing numbers of studies showing remission of diabetes through a reduction in body weight (Quimby et al, 2021). Further research looks at how different food...

Prescribing for respiratory disease

This original research study, published in the journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases, aimed to provide an overview evaluation of the clinical safety of delaying antibiotic commencement for upper...

Over-the-counter statins

Poisoning with homemade remedies

Given that dried leaves may contain up to 0.225%w/w digoxin (ToxBase, no date) calculate the theoretical maximum amount of digoxin in the dried leaves. N.B. 1 dram = 1.77g. .

Ozanimod for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and how Brexit changed the journey

In 1997, Beta-interferon 1a (Avonnex) was licenced in the European Union (EU) for RRMS to reduce the impact and disease process of MS. Today there is a mixture of tablets, injections and infusions...

Acalabrutinib in the management of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Many patients with CLL require surveillance only and have a normal life expectancy, with the majority of patients monitored with a watch and wait approach until the balance of risk and benefits...

Prescribing errors in general practice

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA, 2014) defines a medication error as: ‘a patient safety incident where there has been an error in the process of prescribing, preparing,...

Poisoning with homemade remedies: answers

Given that dried leaves may contain up to 0.225%w/w digoxin (ToxBase, no date) calculate the theoretical maximum amount of digoxin in the dried leaves. N.B. 1 dram = 1.77 g. .