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Spotlight

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

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Rumours that kill

Health care is a field in which rumours flourish: it is not always easy to tell true from false or rumour from robust evidence. Health decisions are safest when based on data that have been extricated from the various forms of bias and influence that can distort information about health care.
1 May 2020

Dry eye: sometimes associated with antimuscarinic drugs

When faced with a patient with dry eye, recognising the possible role of antimuscarinic drugs (also known as atropinics) helps in choosing the best treatment strategy: discontinuing these drugs or possibly replacing them with another drug, reducing the dose or introducing treatment to alleviate the symptoms of dry eye disease.
1 May 2020

Pregabalin (Lyrica° or other brands) and gabapentin (Neurontin° or other brands): known dangers and uncertainties during pregnancy

Taken during pregnancy, pregabalin and gabapentin expose the newborn to harmful effects.
1 May 2020

Cytotoxic drugs: risks for healthcare professionals

Exposure to cytotoxic drugs, which are often genotoxic, carcinogenic or reprotoxic, poses a risk to the health of healthcare and other professionals.
1 May 2020

New data on the cardiac adverse effects of the combination of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil°) with azithromycin (Zithromax° or other brands)

 NEWS UPDATE  As of mid-April 2020, more and more clinical data are confirming that the combination of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil°) with azithromycin (Zithromax° or other brands) carries a risk of serious cardiac adverse effects: prolongation of the QT interval with a high risk of cardiac arrhythmia and torsade de pointes, and cardiovascular mortality, which is increased by the addition of azithromycin. Several cases of cardiac arrest have been reported.
16 April 2020

Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil°): new data show no evidence of efficacy

 NEWS UPDATE  The results of a new randomised comparative but non-blinded trial of high-dose hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil°) versus standard care in 150 patients hospitalised for covid-19 have been published. The only notable difference between the groups was the high incidence of adverse effects in the group treated with hydroxychloroquine. The results of other studies (non-randomised and providing only low-quality evidence) show no evidence that hydroxychloroquine has efficacy against covid-19.
16 April 2020

Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil°): still no conclusive results

 NEWS UPDATE  On 9 April 2020, the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, released a summary of a non-comparative study in 1061 people who had a positive PCR test result for Sars-CoV-2, the virus responsible for covid-19. Most had mild or no symptoms. All were treated with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. Most recovered within 10 days, as is the case, even without treatment, when symptoms are relatively mild. Without a control group, these results can neither confirm nor rule out the value of the treatment administered.
15 April 2020

Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine: uncertainties and unanswered questions

 NEWS UPDATE  Results of a comparative trial of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil°) in 62 patients were published at the end of March 2020. The remaining uncertainty in the wake of these results means that the comparative trials currently underway must be continued, and great care should still be taken in the use of hydroxychloroquine, given its cardiac and other harms.
02 April 2020

Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine: caution

 NEWS UPDATE  Hydroxychloroquine was not shown to be effective in a randomised trial in 30 patients with covid-19, the results of which were published in China in early March 2020. The hypothesis that this drug sometimes worsens covid-19 has not been ruled out. Short-course treatment with hydroxychloroquine carries a risk of various adverse effects, some of which can be fatal, especially in the event of an overdose.
30 March 2020

Pillflix3D°: an Innovative new manufacturing process that could revolutionise the way we solve medicines shortages

1 April 2020

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