News

The potency of vitamin D in compounded and over-the-counter (OTC) supplements varied widely, according to a recent research letter published in the February 11 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.

Processing a prescription through an electronic ordering system decreases the likelihood of error on that order by 48%, and averts more than 17 million such incidents in US hospitals in 1 year alone.

Among US adolescents and young adults, HbA1c levels, central obesity, and smoking were associated with an increased risk of dying before 55 years of age.

The economic implications of HE are numerous and marked altered as based upon direct and indirect costs, worsening of patient's and patient's family members quality of life, employment status, and autonomy.

Use of statins in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients may be associated with prolonged overall survival.

Use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs may be beneficial in patients with neovascular glaucoma and to control complications after filtration surgeries.

Recent advances in treatments of allergic ocular disease are available to help relieve the signs and symptoms in pediatric patients.

Recent advances in treatments of allergic ocular diseases are available to help relieve the signs and symptoms in pediatric patients. Stephen C. Pflugfelder, MD, described those treatments in a symposium during the recent annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, in Chicago

Proposed HIV-testing guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) will remove financial barriers to routine HIV screening by eliminating out-of-pocket costs, according to a perspective article in the March 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dabigatran used beyond the initial 3 months of treatment at a dose of 150 mg twice daily reduced the risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), according to a study published February 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The age-old wisdom that vitamin C can help reduce the incidence of colds recently had another set back in a study from Finland, published in Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews at the end of January 2013.

FDA is adding its strongest warning to labels of codeine-containing products advising against their use for pain relief in children after surgery to remove tonsils or adenoids. The agency asks healthcare professionals to use alternate pain relievers instead.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus taking glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1)-based therapies may have a higher risk of acute pancreatitis, according to a recent report published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

US veterans diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are frequently prescribed doses of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) that are much higher than recommended, according to a new study, published in the February 16, 2013 issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine.

According to AHIP, more claims are being received by payers in electronic formats, and payers are processing those claims at a faster rate than before.

High intakes of calcium in women are associated with higher death rates from all causes and from cardiovascular disease, but not from stroke. This is the conclusion of a prospective longitudinal cohort study conducted by researchers in Sweden and published in the British Medical Journal.

FDA has approved generic buprenorphine hydrochloride (HCl) and naloxone HCl dihydrate sublingual tablets (Amneal Pharmaceuticals), the first generic generic versions of Suboxone (Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK)) sublingual tablets for maintenance treatment of opioid drug dependence.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) issued its final recommendation on vitamin D and calcium supplements for the prevention of fractures, of which there are several individual recommendations for people who do not live in assisted living or nursing homes.

WellPoint and its affiliated health plans (WellPoint) have distributed pill boxes at no extra cost to more than 187,000 at-risk members of Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug plans across the country as a friendly reminder for them to take their medicines.

Processing a prescription through an electronic ordering system decreases the likelihood of error on that order by 48%, and avert more than 17 million such incidents in US hospitals in 1 year alone, according to research published online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Gonorrhea, caused by the bacterium, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, continues to be a major US public health problem in terms of its prevalence as well as the lack of effective treatments available.

FDA has approved everolimus (Zortress, Novartis) for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a liver transplant.

FDA has approved the topical acne drug adapalene 0.1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% (Epiduo, Galderma) in children ages 9 and older, according to a news release.

A study by Norwegian researchers has shown that the use of folic acid supplements around the time of conception may lower the risk of autism in children. The study was published in the February 13, 2013, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

A new Institute of Medicine (IOM) report addresses growing concerns in the global community surrounding the public safety matters of fake and substandard drugs.

In the last 10 years, many patients have developed unexpected toxicities from prescription drugs that have been on the market for 5 to 10 years, according to the Consumer Health Information Corp.

A single corticosteroid injection to treat unilateral lateral epicondylalgia-tennis elbow-is linked to poorer outcomes after 1 year, according to a study published February 6 in JAMA.

The National Breast Cancer Coalition recently awarded a nearly $200,000 seed grant to two researchers who will study the viral connection to breast cancer. The research will assess the infectious agent in breast tumors compared to normal breast tissue, which could lead to a preventive vaccine.