Major bleeding risk higher for dabigatran than for warfarin, study suggests Research suggests that dabigatran is associated with a higher risk of bleeding compared with warfarin in a US population sample.…
Over one million smokers admitted to hospitals in England in 2010/2011It is the first time researchers have put a figure on the prevalence of inpatients who are smokers in hospitals in England.…
UK drug advisory council warns against limiting duration of methadone therapy Government drug advisers have rejected a proposal by government ministers to impose a time limit on prescribing methadone to heroin addicts.…
Pharmacy COPD-screening could save the NHS £264m Community pharmacies can help identify undiagnosed cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at an early stage, which could result in savings of around £264m per year, a pilot study suggests.…
Study upholds use of metformin monotherapy for first-line diabetes treatment Patients recently diagnosed with diabetes who are prescribed metformin monotherapy are less likely to require treatment intensification compared with patients prescribed other oral glucose-lowering medications as a monotherapy.…
Pharmacists are crucial to solving the NHS urgent care problem A greater role for pharmacists is essential if the NHS is to reduce unsustainable pressure on unplanned care services, says Howard Duff, director for England at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.…
Improving antimicrobial stewardship Improve your practice and slow the increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance that already cost around 25,000 deaths across Europe each year.…
Useful text for those working in critical care ‘Handbook of drugs in intensive care, an A-Z guide 5th edition’ by Henry Paw and Rob Shulman.…
Genes influence response to statins, research finds Four genes are responsible for about 5% of the variation in an individual’s response to statin treatment, research suggests.…
E-cigarettes: proceed with cautionI note that your online poll suggests support for the sale of e-cigarettes in pharmacies (2014;293:412). It is not clear who you polled but that is beside the point. We need to proceed with extreme caution in this matter. First, let us be absolutely clear about the motivation of many of the co…