Pharmacotherapies for COPD.

Pharmacotherapies for COPD.

Clin Med Insights Circ Respir Pulm Med. 2013; 7: 17-34
Ejiofor S, Turner AM

This review article summarizes the main treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, their mechanisms, and the key evidence from trials supporting their use. Drug classes covered were short acting beta agonists (SABA), short acting muscarinic antagonists (SAMA), long acting beta agonists (LABA), long acting antimuscarinics (LAMA), inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), LABA/ICS combinations, specific phosphodiesterase (PDE4) inhibitors, non-specific PDE inhibitors, mucolytics, and oxygen. Non-specific therapies, such as opiates for relief of dyspnoea and therapies for smoking cessation, are also covered briefly. For each class of drug, mechanisms of action are described, key clinical trial results are reported, and available agents compared. Finally, the place of each drug in therapy is compared between current worldwide guidelines. HubMed – drug

Voclosporin as a Treatment for Noninfectious Uveitis.

Ophthalmol Eye Dis. 2013; 5: 5-10
Schultz C

Voclosporin is a relatively new calcineurin inhibitor that has been used successfully in humans for the treatment of plaque psoriasis. Available data indicate a good safety profile for this treatment and a significant increase in quality of life for psoriasis patients. More recently, voclosporin has been used to treat ophthalmic conditions such as uveitis. The limited data available indicate at least comparable results relative to current therapy with a better safety profile. Here, we analyze data from human and animal studies and the mode of action of voclosporin. Available safety profile data are also discussed. HubMed – drug

Clinically significant interactions between antiretroviral and co-prescribed drugs for HIV-infected children: profiling and comparison of two drug databases.

Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2013; 9: 215-221
Oshikoya KA, Oreagba IA, Ogunleye OO, Lawal S, Senbanjo IO

Drug-drug interactions are an important therapeutic challenge among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. Early recognition of drug-drug interactions is important, but conflicts do exist among drug compendia on drug interaction information. We aimed to evaluate the consistencies of two drug information resources with regards to the severity rating and categorization of the potential interactions between antiretroviral and co-prescribed drugs.We reviewed the case files of human immunodeficiency virus-infected children who were receiving treatment at the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, between January 2005 and December 2010. All of the co-prescribed and antiretroviral drug pairs were screened for potential interactions using the Medscape Drug Interaction Checker and the Monthly Index of Medical Specialties Interaction Checker. Drug-drug interaction (DDI) severity and categorization were rated on a scale of A (no known interaction); B (minor/no action needed); C (moderate/monitor therapy); D (major/therapy modification); and X (contraindicated/avoid combination).A total of 280 patients were at risk of 596 potential DDIs. The databases showed discrepancies, with Medscape database identifying 504 (84.6%) and USA MIMS database identifying 302 (50.7%) potential DDIs. Simultaneous identification of DDIs by both databases occurred for only 275 (46.1%) listed interactions. Both databases have a weak correlation on the severity rating (rs = 0.45; P < 0.001). The most common DDIs identified by the databases were nevirapine and artemisinin-based combination therapy (170; 28.5%), nevirapine and fluconazole (58; 9.7%), and zidovudine and fluconazole (55; 9.2%). There were 272 (45.6%) interaction severity agreements between the databases.Discrepancies occurred in DDI listings between Medscape and USA MIMS databases. Health care professionals may need to consult more than one DDI information database to ensure safe concomitant prescribing for HIV patients. HubMed – drug

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