Clinical assessment and treatment of ADHD in children.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a highly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children. This widespread and complex condition requires extensive evaluation involving clinicians, parents and teachers. Proper management involves individual assessment and treatment. Psychostimulants remain the primary medication of choice as they have been shown to be efficacious for this condition. Newer, long-acting medications are providing expanded options for children and their caregivers. Failure to assess and treat can lead to serious long-term effects later in life.

Analysis of adverse drug reactions for preventability.

Although preventability criteria have been assessed for all adverse drug reactions (ADRs) investigated at our institution over the past 12 years, a systematic evaluation of the data had not been performed. This project analysed preventability data previously collected to identify the potential areas for process improvements. A 3-year retrospective analysis was performed. All ADRs were categorised by drug, drug class, severity, probability of causality and preventability. Factors involved in preventability were assessed and tallied. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. Most ADRs occurred prior to admission. In the outpatient setting, anticoagulants and anticonvulsants were associated with more preventable ADRs (pADRs) than other drug classes, followed by cardiotonic agents and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). For ADRs that occurred in hospitalised patients, antibiotics and opiates were associated with approximately half of all pADRs. The preventability categories most frequently associated with ADRs prior to admission were presence of a toxic drug level and drug-drug interactions, while inappropriate dose, route or frequency was the most common preventability category for inpatient ADRs. The majority of pADRs were moderate in severity in both the in- and outpatient settings. Drugs and drug classes involved in pADRs differ in the in- and outpatient settings. Preventability categories also differ by setting. Most pADRs occur prior to admission in our healthcare system. This presents a challenge in terms of implementing the process changes to reduce the pADRs, as patients in the community are outside our control.

FDA labeling system for drugs in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To review the current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pregnancy labeling system, examine the new FDA-proposed pregnancy labeling system for form and content, and provide comments on its suitability for implementation. DATA SOURCES: Data were obtained from the FDA's Web site (www.fda.gov), PubMed, Federal Register, LexisNexis, Physician's Desk Reference (PDR), Drugdex, and Current Contents. STUDY SELECTION: Research and articles involving drugs and pregnancy, drugs and lactation, and the subcommittee meeting of the FDA were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Prospective, case-control studies from pregnancy registries. DATA SYNTHESIS: Currently, only 40% of drugs in the PDR have pregnancy categories listed. The medical profession has resorted to other means to assess pregnancy risk, such as retrospective chart review, case reports, and consultation with experts such as regional drug information centers. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed pregnancy labeling system strives for more clinical usefulness by reliance on human data derived from pregnancy registries. The clinical usefulness of the new labeling remains to be seen.

GHB: an important pharmacologic and clinical update.

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) intoxication is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients taking the drug for recreational purposes. Due to the recent increase in emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and deaths, it has become necessary to re-examine the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical manifestations, and potential adverse effects associated with GHB use. We present an important pharmacologic and clinical update on GHB.