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Liver monitoring requirements for cladribine in the treatment of multiple sclerosis have been introduced following uncommon cases of serious liver injury. Advise patients to seek urgent medical attention if they develop any …
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A supply disruption alert was issued by the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) on EpiPen and EpiPen Junior; see MHRA advice on extension of use beyond the expiry date for certain batches of EpiPen 300 microgram ad…
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A review of the risks of major congenital malformations and of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes for antiepileptic drugs by the Commission on Human Medicines has confirmed that lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Kep…
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Patients with complete or partial dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency are at increased risk of severe and fatal toxicity during treatment with these medicines. All patients should be tested for DPD deficiency be…
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Psychological side effects such as anxiety, low mood, sleep disturbance, poor concentration, and forgetfulness have been infrequently reported in people with cystic fibrosis treated with Kaftrio.…
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A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
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The Department for Transport has introduced a new offence of driving with certain controlled drugs above specified limits in the blood; this is likely to come into force on 2 March 2015.
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Contraindications clarified and reminder to monitor renal function.
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Care must be taken with dosing as the 2 products are not equivalent.
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Do not use in closed body cavities or on deep or large wounds.
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A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals.
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All products to be named and prescribed as caffeine citrate.
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Topical oral salicylate gels are no longer indicated for people younger than 16 years for pain associated with infant teething, orthodontic devices, cold sores, or mouth ulcers.
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Pharmacokinetic data indicate exposure of elvitegravir boosted with cobicistat (Genvoya▼, Stribild) is lower during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy than postpartum. Low elvitegravir exposure may be associated wi…
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A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices, and information about the publication of two recent Device Safety Information pages. The article also includ…
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A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals.
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Erythromycin has been associated with events secondary to QT interval prolongation such as cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation. Erythromycin should not be given to patients with a history of QT interval prolongation…
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Monitor thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in patients treated with levothyroxine for at least the first month after starting and ending ritonavir treatment.
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Advice for healthcare professionals on the reclassification of codeine linctus to a prescription-only medicine (POM), following a public consultation.
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Alerts were recently issued about high concentration oxygen masks, metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacements, and BVM (Bag-Valve-Mask) manual resuscitation systems.
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Letters were sent in September about Dacogen (decitabine), Eperzan▼(albiglutide), ERWINASE, ReoPro (abciximab), and recombinant human erythropoietins.
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Letters were sent about Arsenic Trioxide (Trisenox), Uptravi▼ (selexipag), DepoCyte (cytarabine), Cinryze▼ (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]), and Clexane (enoxaparin sodium).
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Advise patients that naltrexone/bupropion has been associated with adverse reactions such as dizziness or somnolence, which can affect ability to drive, operate machinery, or perform dangerous tasks. Advise patients not to d…
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A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines, and a recent National Patient Safety Alert highlighting the risk of deaths and serious injuries from entrapment or falls relatin…
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A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices.
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Statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) are widely used medicines for patients with lipid disorders and in the primary and secondary prevention of heart attack and stroke.
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A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals, including recommendations to reduce handling errors with leuprorelin-containing depot medicines.
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Alerts were issued about paclitaxel drug coated balloons (DCBs) and implantable drug-eluting stents (DESs) in the treatment of patients with peripheral artery disease, and Aisys and Aisys CS2 anaesthesia devices.
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A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
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Updated contraindications and maximum dose recommendations when taken with a number of other medicines.
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Recent information relating to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines that has been published since the March 2022 issue of Drug Safety Update, up to 14 April 2022.
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A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines, and a patient safety alert on mexiletine hydrochloride.
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Calcium salts (either calcium chloride or calcium gluconate) are used to stabilise the myocardium and prevent cardiac arrest in patients experiencing severe hyperkalaemia. However, the two salts are not equivalent in terms o…
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Healthcare professionals are encouraged to report all suspected adverse reactions (ADRs) on the yellow card porftal to melt formulations of desmopressin.
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Tazocin (piperacillin/tazobactam) has been reformulated to meet European Pharmacopoeia requirements on particle size.
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Nasal formulations of desmopressin are no longer indicated for primary nocturnal enuresis.
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Switching from posaconazole oral solution to tablets has resulted in cases of dose-related toxicity, whereas switching from tablets to oral solution has resulted in underdosing and lack of efficacy.
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Prescribers and dispensers should use caution if switching patients between different long-acting formulations of methylphenidate (Concerta XL, Medikinet XL, Equasym XL, Ritalin LA, and generics) as different instructions fo…
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A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
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Letters were sent about alemtuzumab (Lemtrada), Selenase (sodium selenite pentahydrate), and Erelzi▼ (etanercept).
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A clinically significant interaction between carbapenems and valproic acid results in reduced valproate plasma concentrations with potential for inadequate seizure control.…
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A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals
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New pharmacokinetic data show mean exposure of darunavir (brand name Prezista) boosted with cobicistat (available in combination in Rezolsta▼, Symtuza▼) to be lower during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy than du…
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There is a risk of harmful drug interactions with the ritonavir component of the COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid▼ due to its inhibition of the enzyme CYP3A, which metabolises many commonly used drugs.…
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Aluminium can be leached from glass after contact with calcium gluconate solution, leading to a risk of exposure to aluminium. Accumulation of aluminium might have adverse effects on bone mineralisation and neurological deve…
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While this defect is still being investigated, we remind you to always have a full spare cylinder loaded on the delivery device so the cylinders can be switched without delay.
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Risk of thrombosis and haemorrhage in patients with prosthetic heart valve(s) requiring anti-coagulant treatment.
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Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of hypercalcaemia after discontinuation of denosumab treatment for giant cell tumour of bone. Cases of rebound hypercalcemia have been reported up to 9 months after cessation of treatm…
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Recent information relating to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines that has been published since the October 2022 issue of Drug Safety Update, up to 24 November 2022.
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A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals.