english.prescrire.org > Prescrire International > N°143 - November 2013

n°143

November 2013

Issue Contents
Editorial

Free  Think of the losers

p.256
Cancer therapy: beware of observation bias

Marketing Authorisations


Pasireotide (New Drug)

p.257-259
For lack of a better option

Everolimus in advanced or metastatic breast cancer (New Indication)

p.260
No comparison yet with another cytotoxic chemotherapy regimen

Gefitinib and non-small cell lung cancer (A Second Look)

p.261-262
With more follow-up: stubborn facts

Axitinib (New Drug)

p.262-263
No better than sorafenib in kidney cancer

Editors' Opinion

p.263
Double-blind design is also possible in cancer trials

Crizotinib (New Drug)

p.264
Serious adverse effects but poorly documented efficacy in lung cancer

Surveys on end-of-life decisions

p.276

Adverse Effects


Free  Piribedil: sleep attacks, also in patients without Parkinson's disease

p.265
Better to avoid using this drug altogether

Thrombotic risk of contraceptive transdermal patches and the contraceptive vaginal ring

p.266-269
Twice as many vein thromboses as with levonorgestrel

Drospirenone: more cases of thrombosis than with levonorgestrel

p.267

Codeine: fatal respiratory depression in children

p.269
EMA advises against use in children under 8 years

Retigabine: blue skin discoloration and retinal pigment abnormalities

p.269
Ophthalmological monitoring is needed

Reviews


Antithrombotic drugs and ischaemic stroke

p.270-271
Thrombolysis for some patients, aspirin in nearly all cases

Prescrire's advice

p.271
Antithrombotic treatment during the acute phase of ischaemic stroke

Elderly diabetic patients: target an HbA1c of about 8.5%

p.272
Aim for 8% or even 9% in frail elderly patients

Acupuncture and chronic joint pain: an effective placebo?

p.272-273
Comparison with sham acupuncture

Outlook


Euthanasia in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg

p.274-278
Unambiguous legal definition of euthanasia

Medically assisted suicide in Benelux

p.275

Free  Too much medicine

p.278
Unecessary tests and treatments on the rise

Queries and comments: soft paraffin: what are the risks?

p.279
A gold-standard emollient

Masthead


Free  Masthead

p.254

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