Vital Signs: Top 10 Channels for Prescription Drug Distribution in 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (18) ◽  
pp. 2
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Clark ◽  
Megan R. Leloux ◽  
Ross A. Dierkhising ◽  
Gregory D. Cascino ◽  
Sara E. Hocker

AbstractBackground:Previous studies evaluated the disposition of IV phenytoin loading doses and found that obese patients had increased drug distribution into excess body weight, larger volumes of distribution, and longer half-lives when compared to their nonobese counterparts. We assess the safety and efficacy of fosphenytoin loading doses in patients with different body mass indices (BMIs).Methods:A retrospective chart review was conducted in 410 patients who received fosphenytoin. Patients were divided into 2 groups: BMI <30 (nonobese) and BMI ≥30 (obese). Patient demographics, fosphenytoin dose administered in mg/kg body weight, renal and liver function tests, fosphenytoin drug levels, and pre- and post-fosphenytoin administration vital signs were collected to assess for adverse events. Necessity of additional antiepileptic loading doses was used as a surrogate for clinical efficacy.Results:The median dose of fosphenytoin administered was 19 mg/kg (interquartile range 15–20). The most frequently encountered adverse event was hypotension, which occurred in 39% of the cohort. Using a Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons, there were no differences in adverse events between the 2 groups. The need for additional antiepileptic loading doses was not different between the 2 groups (p = 0.07).Conclusions:The incidence of adverse events and the need for repeat loading antiepileptic medications was similar between the 2 groups. From our findings, the patients in our study did not receive empiric loading dose adjustments and the current method of loading fosphenytoin achieves similar outcomes, regardless of the patient's BMI.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (31) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabina Riboldazzi

In recent years, a series of regulatory actions have reformed the Italian pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly that of non-prescription drugs. The present study analyzes the distribution phase of non-prescription drugs. Specifically, it focuses on the retail market of pharmaceuticals in Italy, highlighting the different sales formats and the role played by those large-scale retailers that have been able to develop new pharmaceutical offerings in their point of sales through dynamic management of retailing mix levers in a competitive perspective.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. maapoc.0000020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Guerra ◽  
Timothy K. Mackey

The rise of digital technologies has created a complex online environment that now includes illicit Internet pharmacies, online facilitators, advertising sites, and foreign entities. Collectively, these networks create significant patient safety risks, including acting as unregulated access points encouraging prescription drug abuse. Although law enforcement is active in combating this form of cybercrime, there are several difficulties in prosecuting individuals involved in online prescription drug distribution. We characterize these challenges by conducting a comprehensive legal review and analysis of USA civil and criminal cases associated with online pharmacies. This is accomplished by reviewing legal documents/filings available via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) database, the Drug Enforcement Agency's website, and structured search queries using the Google search engine. We found more than 100 cases, including criminal indictments, sentencing documents, judgments, forfeiture orders, motions, civil complaints, and restitution documents. Our review indicates that current legal tools and regulatory policies do not effectively deter this highly profitable criminal activity. Hence, we issue a “Call to Action,” advocating the need for more robust legal remedies and criminal penalties, and greater legal and policy coherence at the domestic, regional, and global level aimed at improving patient safety and ensuring the integrity of the drug supply chain.


Author(s):  
Robert H. Liss ◽  
Frances A. Cotton

Daunomycin, an antibiotic used in the clinical management of acute leukemia, produces a delayed, lethal cardiac toxicity. The lethality is dose and schedule dependent; histopathologic changes induced by the drug have been described in heart, lung, and kidney from hamsters in both single and multiple dose studies. Mice given a single intravenous dose of daunomycin (10 mg/kg) die 6-7 days later. Drug distribution studies indicate that the rodents excrete most of a single dose of the drug as daunomycin and metabolite within 48 hours after dosage (M. A. Asbell, personal communication).Myocardium from the ventricles of 6 moribund BDF1 mice which had received a single intravenous dose of daunomycin (10 mg/kg), and from controls dosed with physiologic saline, was fixed in glutaraldehyde and prepared for electron microscopy.


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