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Pharmacy
Top Medical News
Patients who received direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) following transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) seem to have a lower risk of bleeding complications and shorter length of hospital stay, with no significant increase in the risk of thrombotic events, than those treated with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), a study has shown.
In critically ill patients who have been on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for at least 3 days, a subsequent 3-day course of preventive inhaled amikacin reduced the burden of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) during 28 days of follow-up, findings from the AMIKINHAL trial have shown.
Treatment with the combination of xanomeline plus trospium leads to favourable reduction in positive and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, while being well tolerated, according to data from the phase III EMERGENT-2 trial.
The tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, when used at low dose in the second-line treatment setting and titrated according to symptom response and side-effects, is safe and provides relief from symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as shown in the phase III ATLANTIS* trial.
Use of allopurinol 300 mg helps prevent the incidence of overall complications associated with liver cirrhosis, reports a study.
A 5-day course of oral amoxicillin-clavulanate performs just as wells as a 10-day course in the treatment of febrile urinary tract infection (fUTI) in children, a study has shown.
Stopping prescription benzodiazepine treatment may leave long-term users worse off, with a study finding increases in the risks of death and other unfavourable events.
Special Reports
At the 27th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR) 2023, a Pfizer-sponsored symposium addressed the evolving challenges of COVID-19, particularly for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions. Chaired by Dr Chan Kwok Wai Adrian, a renowned respiratory physician and intensivist from Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore, and featuring insights from Professor Yang Kuang-Yao of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, the symposium focused on the disease’s impact, treatment guidelines, regional management strategies, and the role of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, a new oral combination pill, in the treatment of COVID-19.
Budesonide 160 mcg, glycopyrronium 7.2 mcg, formoterol fumarate dihydrate 5 mcg inhalation suspension
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have demonstrated cardiorenal benefits in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and those with heart failure (HF) or chronic kidney disease (CKD) with or without diabetes. However, misconceptions may lead to inertia in treatment initiation in elderly patients. At a Boehringer Ingelheim–sponsored symposium organized by the Hong Kong Geriatrics Society, Professor Silvio Inzucchi of Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, US, and Professor Michael Böhm of Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany, presented pivotal trial and real-world data demonstrating empagliflozin’s cardiorenal benefits and safety in elderly patients with these closely interrelated cardio-renalmetabolic (CRM) conditions.
Hyperkalaemia or concerns regarding potential hyperkalaemia may contribute to dose reduction or discontinuation of reninangiotensin system inhibitors (RASIs). At a recent diabetic kidney disease (DKD) expert meeting chaired by Professor Juliana Chan of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and Professor Sydney Tang of the Department of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), a panel of clinical pharmacologists, endocrinologists and nephrologists shared insights into personalized potassium management and provided practical guidance on RASI optimization.
Statins have remained the cornerstone of lipid-lowering therapy for several decades. However, a substantial proportion of patients fail to achieve guideline-recommended LDL-cholesterol targets, while one in 10–12 patients have statin intolerance. At the 31st Annual Scientific Congress of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology (HKCC ASC 2023), Professor Ulrich Laufs of the Department of Cardiology, Leipzig University Hospital, Germany, presented evidence on bempedoic acid, a novel, first-in-class treatment for statin-intolerant patients at high risk of cardiovascular (CV) events, which is available as a single agent or as a fixed-dose combination (FDC) with ezetimibe.
Pegaspargase powder for solution for injection/infusion 3,750 units
Bempedoic acid 180 mg, ezetimibe 10 mg film-coated tablet
Conference Reports
Adding sotorasib to panitumumab significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with chemorefractory KRAS G12C-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) compared with investigator’s choice of standard of care treatment, according to the CodeBreaK 300 trial presented at ESMO Asia 2023.
Sacituzumab govitecan improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in Asian patients with HR+/HER2– metastatic breast cancer (mBC) compared with the treatment of physician’s choice (TPC*), according to the EVER-132-002 study presented at ESMO Asia 2023.
The addition of carfilzomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd) improved outcomes in individuals with newly diagnosed fit or intermediate-fit multiple myeloma who are transplant ineligible (NTE NDMM) as opposed to Rd only in the phase III EMN20 trial.
The addition of capivasertib (C) to fulvestrant (F) results in better health-related quality of life (HRQoL), except for diarrhoea, in patients with aromatase inhibitor-resistant HR-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer when compared to placebo plus F, according to the phase III CAPItello-291 study presented at SABCS 2023.
Body mass index (BMI) has some bearing on the efficacy of different adjuvant chemotherapy schedules in patients with early breast cancer, suggest the results of the GIM2 study, which were presented at the recent SABCS 2023. Additionally, dose-dense (DD) chemotherapy appears to be the better treatment strategy regardless of a patient’s BMI.
In the primary analysis of the expanded-access ZUMA-18 trial, the autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) demonstrated a high level of efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (R/R MCL).
Adjuvant treatment with alectinib, an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor, significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) better than platinum-based chemotherapy at 2 years in Asian patients with early-stage, completely resected ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (ALK+ NSCLC) in an exploratory analysis of the phase III ALINA trial.
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