Letter. . SSSFT staff can use the OVID link, or you can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The systematic assessment of the efficacy and safety of psychiatric medications in children and adolescents started about 20 years ago. Since then, a considerable number of randomised clinical trials have been conducted, including also a series of publicly funded comparative effectiveness studies to evaluate the therapeutic benefit of medications relative to psychosocial interventions, alone or combined with medications. On the whole, these studies have been informative of the paediatric pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of the most commonly used psychotropics. As a consequence, a number of meta-analyses have been conducted that have documented both the benefits and harms of the most common medication groups, such as stimulants, antidepressants and antipsychotics. Evidence-based practice guidelines have been produced, and clinicians can now better estimate the therapeutic value and the risk of treatment, at least at the group mean level...... To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Letter. SSSFT staff can use the OVID link, or you can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Case report. Two Manic Episodes Related to a Levetiracetam-Based Treatment in a 34-Year-Old Female Patient. MPFT staff can use the OVID link, or you can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Letter. . SSSFT staff can use the OVID link, or you can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The United Kingdom (UK) Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) is a 2-hour online assessment of prescribing competence. This study describes the academic characteristics and performance of the assessment; longitudinal performance of candidates and schools; stakeholder feedback; and surrogate markers of prescribing safety in UK healthcare practice. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The aim of the study is to describe the prevalence of illicit drug use in England and Wales using data from the UK Survey of Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs (NMURx) programme and to compare against the well-established Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW). The rationale is that recreational and illicit drug use is common, but the prevalence is difficult to estimate with personal interviewing methods.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Objectives: we aimed to understand the adoption and implementation of an electronic clinical audit and feedback tool to support medicine optimisation for patients in primary care. Open Access Article
We present two cases of acute hepatotoxicity associated with elevated paracetamol (acetaminophen) levels in older patients. Both patients were receiving a standard European dose of oral paracetamol (2 × 500 mg QDS) with no risk factors for slowed metabolism (weight <50 kg, interacting medications, hepatic enzyme inducers, history of liver disease). Significantly, both patients had recently had a dose escalation from ‘as needed’ dosing to 4 g daily, and the medication was being administered by nursing staff. Our experience shows that even when prescribed appropriately at the usual therapeutic dosage, paracetamol can be hepatotoxic. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
At Scottish medical schools we were taught that to over-prescribe was the 8th venial sin. We learnt about the terrors of interactions at the level of absorption, metabolism, excretion and the curse of multiplying unwanted effects.
I intercede before Asclepius for my colleagues in psychiatry and primary care who have difficulty identifying alcohol problems in their patients (see Mitchell et al., 2012) or who have difficulty understanding that alcohol use disorders (AUD) are often the cause not the consequence of their patients’ complaints of depression and anxiety.. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
This systematic literature review investigated how often the unintended impact of regulatory interventions was considered in publications of studies investigating pharmacovigilance regulatory interventions in Europe. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
People with intellectual disability experience high rates of mental disorders and challenging behaviour, but representative data are hard to obtain for this population. Concerns have previously been raised about the difficulty this group experience in accessing quality mental health services1 and the morbidity associated with high rates of psychotropic drug prescription.2 General practitioners (GPs) are pivotal in provision of mental healthcare and representative data from this setting has the capacity to inform the epidemiology of mental disorders and the psychotropic drug burden for people with intellectual disability. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
This cross-sectional analysis suggests around 1 or 2 in 10 antibiotic prescriptions issued by GPs may be inappropriate.
Respiratory infections are known to account for the majority of prescriptions in general practice.
These findings support this, identifying the highest number of inappropriate prescriptions being given for sore throat, cough, sinusitis, and ear infection.
A new report from Public Health England (PHE) shows that for the first time fewer antibiotics are being prescribed by GPs and clinicians. A decline in the use of antibiotics has occurred across all healthcare settings, including in the community and hospitals. This is the first time a reduction has been seen in antibiotic use across the whole healthcare system.
Antipsychotic medications, especially second-generation antipsychotics, have increasingly been prescribed to children under age 18 in the United States. They are approved to treat pediatric bipolar and psychotic disorders and aggressive behaviors among patients with autism, but they are often used off label to control disruptive behaviors of children without autism and treat mood problems of children without bipolar disorder.Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library http://www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Invited commentary. Increasing evidence, primarily from small studies, supports the idea that the dissociative anesthetic ketamine has rapid antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-refractory major depression.1 The beneficial effects of ketamine are observed within hours of administration and can last approximately 1 week. Given that up to one-third of patients with major depression fail current treatments,2 there is a clear need for novel and more effective treatments. Results to date have led to increasing off-label use of ketamine in clinical practices, with little guidance about clinical administration. In this issue of the JAMA Psychiatry, Sanacora and colleagues3 provide a much-needed consensus statement to help guide clinical use of ketamine. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Non-illicit alternatives to controlled drugs, known as novel psychoactive substances (NPS), have recently risen to prominence. They are readily available, with uncertain pharmacology and no widely available assay. Given that psychiatric patients are at risk of comorbid substance abuse, we hypothesised that NPS use would be present in the psychiatric population, and sought to determine its prevalence and investigate the characteristics of those who use these drugs with a retrospective review of discharge letters. Open Access Article
The objective of this review was to examine prevalence and patterns of psychopharmacotherapy in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.