-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices.
-
Advice for healthcare professionals on the reclassification of codeine linctus to a prescription-only medicine (POM), following a public consultation.
-
There have been very rare reports of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) with pseudoephedrine.
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices.
-
New safety and educational materials have been introduced for men and women and healthcare professionals to reduce the harms from valproate, including the significant risk of serious harm to the baby if taken during pregnanc…
-
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials have highlighted a dose-dependent increased risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with established cardiovascular diseases or cardiovascular risk factors…
-
Healthcare professionals prescribing aripiprazole are reminded to be alert to the risk of addictive gambling and other impulse control disorders. Healthcare professionals should advise patients, their families and friends to…
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
-
We have strengthened the safe use of isotretinoin through the introduction of additional oversight of the initiation of isotretinoin in patients under 18 years and through improved assessment and monitoring of mental health …
-
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, valproate-containing medicines must always be dispensed in the manufacturer’s original full pack.
-
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.
-
Globally, there has been a very small number of reports of new-onset or aggravation of pre-existing myasthenia gravis with atorvastatin, pravastatin, lovastatin, fluvastatin, simvastatin, rosuvastatin and pitavastatin (singl…
-
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…
-
We are providing an update on a retrospective observational study on the risk to children born to men who took valproate in the 3 months before conception and on the need for the re-analysis of the data from this study befor…
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
-
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…
-
Risk minimisation materials are available to support the safe use of new paediatric formulations of rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa). In addition, we ask healthcare professionals to consult the curren…
-
We inform healthcare professionals of new risk minimisation measures for JAK inhibitors used to treat chronic inflammatory disorders, consistent with the measures introduced for tofacitinib (Xeljanz) in 2020 and 2021. This a…
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices.
-
Prescribers and dispensers should use caution if switching patients between different metolazone preparations as the rate and extent of absorption of metolazone are formulation dependent. This can impact the bioavailability …
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
-
In view of data showing ongoing exposure to valproate in pregnancy, this article reminds healthcare professionals of the risks in pregnancy and the current Pregnancy Prevention Programme requirements, and provides informatio…
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices.
-
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…
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines, and a patient safety alert on mexiletine hydrochloride.
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines.
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices. Includes a recent recall of Accupro (quinapril hydrochloride) and advice on Xagrid (anagrelide hydrochloride…
-
A new study has suggested pregabalin may slightly increase the risk of major congenital malformations if used in pregnancy. Patients should continue to use effective contraception during treatment and avoid use in pregnancy …
-
A summary of recent letters and notifications sent to healthcare professionals about medicines and medical devices. Includes a recent recall of Accuretic (quinapril hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide).
-
Amiodarone has been associated with serious and potentially life-threatening side effects, particularly of the lung, liver, and thyroid gland. We remind healthcare professionals that patients should be supervised and reviewe…
-
A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
-
We remind healthcare professionals that elderly patients are at an increased risk of adverse neurological and cardiac effects when being treated with haloperidol for delirium. The lowest possible dose of haloperidol should b…
-
A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
-
A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
-
Tofacitinib should not be used in patients older than 65 years of age, people who are current or past smokers, or individuals with other cardiovascular (such as diabetes or coronary artery disease) or malignancy risk factors…
-
A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
-
A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals
-
A summary of recent letters, medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals
-
A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals.
-
A summary of letters and recent medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
-
Addition of a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based laxative to a liquid that has been thickened with a starch-based thickener may counteract the thickening action, placing patients with dysphagia at a greater risk of aspiration.
-
A summary of letters and recent medicine recalls and notifications sent to healthcare professionals.
-
A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals.
-
Pregabalin has been associated with infrequent reports of severe respiratory depression, including some cases without the presence of concomitant opioid medicines. Patients with compromised respiratory function, respiratory …
-
SSRIs and SNRIs are known to increase bleeding risks due to their effect on platelet function. Data from observational studies suggest that the use of SSRI/SNRI antidepressants during the month before delivery may resul…
-
A summary of letters and drug alerts recently sent to healthcare professionals.