Antipsychotics Don't Help ICU delirium
by Drew Rosielle (@drosielle)It just gets worse and worse for the idea that antipsychotics have efficacy for delirium.Last year Iposted about the RCT of haloperidol, risperidone, or placebo for delirium symptoms in ' palliative ' patients. I ' m pretty sure I called for more controlled, ' high quality, ' trials, and we are lucky enough to have another.This one is arandomized, double-blinded, registered, controlled trial of haloperidol, ziprasidone, or placebo for ICU delirium, just published in NEJM.The trial took place in a geographically diverse group of US-based intensive care units. They enrolled adult patients in medi...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - October 25, 2018 Category: Palliative Care Tags: delirium icu journal article rosielle Source Type: blogs
What Are the Rules for Ethical Medication of Migrant Kids?
Reports that migrant children held by the Office of Refugee Resettlement are being drugged require an immediate and unambiguous response by the Trump administration. According to court filings, the drugs that are alleged to be among those given to children without their parents’ consent include clonazepam, duloxetine, guanfacine, geodon, olanzapine, latuda and divalproex. Drugging children without… Read more
The post What Are the Rules for Ethical Medication of Migrant Kids? appeared first on The Hastings Center. (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - July 2, 2018 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Susan Gilbert Tags: Health Care Children & Psychiatric Medications Children and Families Hastings Bioethics Forum Health and Health Care migrant children psychotropic drugs syndicated Undocumented Patients Source Type: blogs
Medications that Increase the Risks of Falling
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don ’t.ByAlzheimer's Reading RoomWhat ’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and DementiaHow to Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's and DementiaHow to Get Answers To Your Questions About Alzheimer's and Dementia“Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don’t – perhap...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 1, 2017 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care care of dementia patients dementia care health help alzheimer's help with dementia care medications falls Prescription Medications Risks risk of falling senior care Source Type: blogs
Dementia Care, Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling
Medications can increase the risk of falls and falling; and, are a major cause of injuries and death in older adults.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomDuring the entire 8 and a half years, 3,112 days, that I was taking care of my mother, I worried about her falling.Falls can result in hip injuries, head injuries, or something worse.If you loved one is falling, or complaining of "dizziness" check out the list of medications below; and then, consult with your personal care doctor.Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling an Early Sign of DementiaThe drugs older people take can make them more susceptible to falling.Research...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - September 7, 2016 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care Alzheimer's Dementia dementia care dementia falls dementia help for caregivers family caregiving help alzheimer's help with dementia care memory care searches related to falling Source Type: blogs
Pfizer's Latest International Pfiascos - Charges of Anti-Competitive Practices, Inflated Prices, Deception and Secrecy
Many big health care organizations seem to just be unable to keep out of trouble, and the bigger they are, the more kinds of trouble. Pfizer Inc, considered to be one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, has supplied us with plenty of stories. Enough new stories about Pfizer have accumulated since last year to do a roundup. Presented in chronological order....Italy Demands Damages from Pfizer for Anti-Trust ViolationsThis story came out in May, 2014, via Reuters,Italy said on Wednesday it was seeking more than a billion euros in damages from multinational drug companies following a...
Source: Health Care Renewal - September 13, 2015 Category: Health Management Tags: adverse effects antitrust deception executive compensation health care prices legal settlements marketing Pfizer suppression of medical research vaccines Source Type: blogs
Don’t Smoke ’Em if You Got ’Em
A 22-year-old man with no past medical history presented to the emergency department with altered mental status. He was brought in by police who reported using a TASER on him three times after he became violent with them. His friends report he smoked K2. His initial vital signs included a temperature of 99.9°F, a heart rate of 137 bpm, blood pressure of 151/76 mm Hg, a respiratory rate of 22 bpm, and pulse oximetry of 98% on room air. The patient was agitated and combative, and was placed in four-point restraints.
K2 is a synthetic cannabinoid. Other commonly used synthetic cannabinoids include spice, moon rocks, com...
Source: The Tox Cave - July 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Don’t Smoke ’Em if You Got ’Em
A 22-year-old man with no past medical history presented to the emergency department with altered mental status. He was brought in by police who reported using a TASER on him three times after he became violent with them. His friends report he smoked K2. His initial vital signs included a temperature of 99.9°F, a heart rate of 137 bpm, blood pressure of 151/76 mm Hg, a respiratory rate of 22 bpm, and pulse oximetry of 98% on room air. The patient was agitated and combative, and was placed in four-point restraints.
K2 is a synthetic cannabinoid. Other commonly used synthetic cannabinoids include spice, moon rocks, comat...
Source: The Tox Cave - July 1, 2015 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Hospital Quality Measures: Value Based Purchasing 2.0 (The Funny Version).
For years, hospital quality measures have been tracked by private and government insurance programs to try and improve the healthcare services received by their beneficiaries. The most recent example is the Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBP) initiative by The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). How does CMS describe VBP?"Under the Program, CMS will make value-based incentive payments to acute care hospitals, based either on how well the hospitals perform on certain quality measures or how much the hospitals' performance improves on certain quality measures from their performance during a basel...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - March 14, 2014 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs
Cardiovascular and Diabetes Outcomes Among Those taking Novel Antipsychotics
I remember from medical school and the early days of my residency when the only medications available to treat psychosis were the neuroleptics. Patients hated taking them: the high potency medicines like Haldol and Prolixin left people rigid; they had pill-rolling movements with their fingers, cogwheeling in their joints, and they walked liked zombies. The lower potency medications like Mellaril left people drooling and sedated. I once heard these medications described as like having molasses poured into your brain. We'd cajole people in to taking them, and like all medications, there were some peop...
Source: Shrink Rap - January 20, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Dinah Source Type: blogs
Beginning of working on weight loss - again!
Things with husband are better today, as least *I* feel better, I can't speak for him. It is truly a day-to-day experience with absolutely no predictability.I was so upset last night I ended up taking SEVEN Geoden - a medication that I haven't taken in two years apparently, because that was the date on the bottle. I hate the drug actually - turns me into a zombie and I just sleep and sleep, but that was the goal. I think that taking so many all at once improved my mood today? But he also didn't rant and rave so much either, so who knows, but at least the anxiety and guilty feels went ...
Source: bipolar.and.me - November 7, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
Impacts of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Healthcare Services in the District of Columbia: Focus on Antipsychotics in the Elderly
In April of last year, we wrote about Washington, DC's AccessRX Act, which requires pharmaceutical companies that market products in the District to file annual reports on marketing expenditures.
In 2011, 158 pharmaceutical companies reported spending a total of $83.7 million on marketing activities in DC, including $57.9 (69.2%) million on employee and contractor expenses, $18.9 (22.5%) million on gifts and payments, and $6.9 (8.2%) million on advertising. A 2009 report addressed pharmaceutical marketing and healthcare services more broadly in DC. Additional reports were then published in for 2010 and 2011.
Hos...
Source: Policy and Medicine - October 29, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
When Tweets Go Awry: Gedeon Richter Will Not Tweet This News
As drugmakers weigh the perils and pleasures of social media, consider what Gedeon Richter recently experienced. A former employee complained to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, a UK panel that monitors industry behavior, about a pair of tweets that were sent to promote a pair of events for the Esyma treatment for uterine fibroids.
The tweets were actually issued by an events company and, to some, may have appeared innocuous. A November 9 tweet said: “Sharing surgical experience after the use of ulipristal acetate in fibroid patients” and a November 22 tweet said: “Places available at the Nottin...
Source: Pharmalot - September 19, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Breakthroughs in Bipolar Treatment
"We should continue to repurpose treatments and to recognise the role of serendipity" (Geddes & Miklowitz, 2013).That quote was from a recent review article in The Lancet, which did not hint at any impending pharmacological breakthroughs in the treatment of bipolar disorder. In other words, the future of bipolar treatment doesn't look much different from the present (at least in the immediate term). Bipolar disorder, an illness defined by the existence of manic or hypomanic highs, alternating with depressive lows, can be especially difficult to treat. And the mood episode known as a mixed state, where irritability, ex...
Source: The Neurocritic - August 2, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Funny Allergy Quotes, Jokes, Stories and a List of Crazy Reactions.
If you're looking for funny allergy quotes, jokes and stories you've come to the right place. I asked my readers from facebook to provide me with their experiences they've had regarding crazy allergy reactions and they did not let me down. They relayed dozens of incidents they've experienced through the years. Over the years I've discovered several funny allergies myself, including allergies to prednisone, diet products and the color red. Some patients have dozens of allergies. My experience is that most of these allergies are not allergies in the physiological sense. The te...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - July 2, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs
Decision Made, Let's Go Already!
After doing a lot of research on the internet and considering all of the problems I've had and all of the surgeries I've already had and each time everything grows back by my next yearly appointment, I decided to go ahead and get a hysterectomy. Maybe I could shop around and find a doctor who would prescribe birth control pills, but I think I've come to a point where I just want all of this to go away and not deal with it ever again as long as I can keep my ovaries so I don't get a hormonal imbalance. I called the scheduling nurse when I made the decision, and when I made such a monumental decision li...
Source: bipolar.and.me - March 23, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
