Antibiotics and steroids really do help with COPD exacerbations

The effectiveness and adverse events (AEs) of drug treatment for adults with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has now been assessed in a systematic review and meta-analysis of 68 randomised controlled trials. Antibiotic use for 3-14 days...

Omission of medication doses in the psychiatric setting

Trained pharmacy teams in the United Kingdom have undertaken a multi-centre study to determine the prevalence, nature and predictors of omitted doses in psychiatric hospitals. Among 444 inpatients, 2,717 dose omissions were reported from 18,664 scheduled doses, a raw...

ADRs in middle-aged people, and hospitalisation

A team of researchers in Ireland have conducted a prospective observational pilot study to assess the prevalence, severity and preventability of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), ADRs causing or contributing to hospitalisation (cADRs) and preventable ADRs (pADRs) in...

Initiation of psychotropic drugs after entering residential care

A recent Australian national cohort study has investigated the prevalence of psychotropic medicine dispensing (specifically of antipsychotic, benzodiazepine and antidepressant medicines) one year before and one year after entry into residential aged care. During the...