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Varenicline and cardiovascular risk
The smoking cessation aid varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer) may increase the risk of cardiovascular events in adults with cardiovascular disease, according to a recent FDA safety announcement.
The smoking cessation aid varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer) may increase the risk of cardiovascular events in adults with cardiovascular disease, according to a recent FDA safety announcement.
The announcement follows the results of a meta-analysis of 15 Pfizer-sponsored, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials that included 7,002 patients, which was conducted to assess the occurrence and timing of major adverse cardiovascular events.
Researchers found that, within 30 days of treatment, patients taking varenicline were slightly more likely than patients taking placebo to experience a major adverse event, reported as a combined outcome of cardiovascular-related death, nonfatal heart attack, and nonfatal stroke (varenicline, 0.31% [13/4190]; placebo, 0.21% [6/2812]). FDA notes that the events were uncommon in both groups, and the increased risk was not statistically significant; however multiple data analyses consistently demonstrated a higher occurrence of these events in patients taking varenicline.
FDA reports that the Warnings and Precautions section of the Chantix label has been updated to include the results of the new data.
“It is important to note that smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and Chantix is effective in helping patients to quit smoking and abstain from it for as long as 1 year. The health benefits of quitting smoking are immediate and substantial,” FDA notes. But, the organization advises healthcare professionals to weigh risks of treatment against the benefits for each patient.
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.
