Test yourself: the 2023 CPD and Learning quiz Assess your knowledge on topics ranging from infectious diseases, to professional skills, to cardiology, in our end-of-year CPD and learning quiz.…
New valproate prescriptions must be signed off by two specialist doctors from January 2024, says MHRA The requirement for valproate prescriptions, which will come into effect on 31 January 2024, was first announced in December 2022.…
Pharmacies offering contraception service must opt in to initiate patients on the pill by February 2024 Pharmacies offering the NHS contraception service must begin providing tiers 1 and 2 of the service by February 2024.…
HRT prescribing increased by almost half in one year, NHS figures show Data show that 10.9 million hormone replacement therapy items were prescribed in England in 2022/2023, up from 7.4 million items in 2021/2022.…
UK regulator to consider EMA recommendation to avoid topiramate in pregnancy Exclusive: The UK medicines regulator said it would carefully consider recommendations made by the European Medicines Agency, which were published following a review of data showing an increased risk of developmental disorders among children exposed to topiramate before birth.…
‘Artificial pancreas’ offers better glycaemic control than standard therapy for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, study reveals Pregnant women treated with hybrid closed-loop therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus spent less time at hyperglycaemic state, gained less maternal weight and had fewer hypertensive complications.…
Metformin for gestational diabetes does not increase preterm births, study results suggest The results also suggested that pregnant women given metformin were less likely to need insulin for their gestational diabetes.…
NSAIDs used alongside hormonal contraception increase risk of blood clots, research suggests Researchers concluded that the absolute risk of a venous thromboembolic event remains low in concomitant use of hormonal contraception and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.…
‘Exciting’ trial results show NSAID taken with emergency contraception could improve efficacy Using data from 860 people in Hong Kong, researchers found that the percentage of pregnancies prevented was significantly higher in those who took piroxicam plus levonorgestrel compared with those assigned to take placebo and levonorgestrel.…
Depression and ‘the pill’: untangling the evidence A closer look at the conflicting evidence around links between the oral contraceptive and mood changes, following calls for more research in this area.…
