Digestive system diseases

TNF-α antagonists not linked with cancer in Danish study

The use of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) antagonists to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not associated with an increased risk of cancer, analysis of a Danish registry indicates[1] . The analysis, conducted by researchers from Statens Serum Institute and …

Naloxegol effective in treating opioid-induced constipation

Naloxegol has shown efficacy in two phase III clinical trials.…

Sunday morning musings on managing long-term conditions

“Community pharmacists are extremely famous, but we don’t know what you do.” These are the words of a delegate relaying the uninformed position of his voluntary sector colleagues. Wherever I am lately, this is the predominant question: do people really understand the role of pharma…

Liver disease: managing the complications

Complications of liver disease include the development of clotting disorders, ascites and portal hypertension…

Liver disease pathophysiology

The functions of the liver are wide ranging and include synthesis of clotting factors and metabolism of drugs and bilirubin; symptoms of liver disease relate to the liver’s inability to perform these functions…

Inflammatory bowel disease: clinical features and diagnosis

Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term for two conditions — ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Although these affect the bowel, up to 40% of sufferers experience extraintestinal symptoms.…

Supplying stoma products and services

Cherry Bwalya and Jo Sica continue with their look at how pharmacists can support people with a stoma. They explain stoma products and the services that pharmacists can offer.…

How to interpret liver function tests

Patients with abnormal liver function tests are encountered commonly by pharmacists. It is therefore helpful to know how to amend patients’ treatments and when such amendments might be necessary.…

How to deal with constipation

Susan Allen outlines the causes of and treatments for constipation and discusses special groups pharmacists should consider.…

Coeliac disease — a case study

With the advent of more sensitive testing, it is estimated that the prevalence of coeliac disease has risen to as many as one in 300. Pharmacists need to have an appreciation of the difficulties faced by patients with coeliac disease and be able to offer good practical advice…