Recent Postings

Patients taking the commonly prescribed antibiotic erythromycin should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription medications.

In his editor’s column, Dr. Michael Carome lambasts the FDA for its policy that allowed some hand sanitizers to be marketed in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic that were tainted with carcinogenic benzene.

Learn why taking daily oral omega-3 fatty oral supplements containing a combination of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may not be good for your heart.

In this article, we review data from new research showing that even short-term (14 or fewer days) use of oral corticosteroids can increase your risk of serious adverse effects.

Results of recently published studies suggest that use of the potent stomach-acid–suppressing proton inhibitor medications in children may lead to small increases in the risks of fractures and asthma.

In this month’s News Brief, we discuss a recent safety advisory issued by drug regulators in Canada warning of multiple reports of children experiencing acetaminophen poisoning after ingesting adult acetaminophen easy-to-swallow tablets that look like candy.

Learn why we have designated rivaroxaban, one of the so-called “novel” oral anticoagulants (blood thinners), as Do Not Use.

In his editor’s column, Dr. Michael Carome discusses a troubling report that detailed how drugmaker Merck & Co. and the FDA failed to add a warning about the potential risk of suicidal thoughts in men taking the company’s anti-baldness drug PROPECIA to the drug’s U.S. product labeling.

In September 2020, the FDA announced that it would require the manufacturers of all benzodiazepines to update the black-box warning (the strongest warning that the agency can require) for these drugs to describe risks of abuse, addiction and other related adverse reactions. Such action was long overdue.

In this article, we review results of new research that examined a specific form of nondrug psychological therapy, referred to as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, for management of chronic insomnia in patients with other major physical or mental disorders.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a life-threatening neurological disorder most often caused by neuroleptic (antipsychotic) medications, which are used to treat schizophrenia and certain other psychiatric disorders, among other things. The syndrome also can be caused by certain other drugs used to treat nausea and depression, as well as by the sudden discontinuation of a dopamine agonist (drugs that are used most commonly to treat Parkinson’s disease).

In this month’s Question & Answer feature, we respond to a reader’s question about whether the potassium-sparing diuretic spironolactone (ALDACTONE, CAROSPIR) can cause magnesium deficiency.

Recently published research demonstrated that bisphosphonate drugs are useful for preventing osteoporosis-related hip fractures, but that continuous bisphosphonate therapy beyond five years appears to offer no additional benefit for preventing such fractures.

According to a troubling report issued in January by the Government Accountability Office — an independent, nonpartisan federal watchdog agency that works for Congress — the COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe reductions in the FDA’s entire inspection program, with inspections of foreign drugmakers brought to a virtual standstill.

Patients taking the commonly prescribed drug atorvastatin, which is a member of the statin family of cholesterol-lowering drugs, should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription medications.

Soon after the coronavirus pandemic began, theoretical concerns were raised about the possibility that the widely prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may increase the risk of contracting the coronavirus and predispose COVID-19 patients to more severe illness. Results of a randomized controlled trial provide new evidence that ACE inhibitors and ARBs can be safely continued in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Idarucizumab (PRAXBIND) received accelerated approval from the FDA in 2015 for reversal of the effect of the new oral anticoagulant (blood thinner) dabigatran (PRADAXA) when needed before emergency surgery or urgent procedures or in life-threating or uncontrolled bleeding. Learn why we have designated idarucizumab and dabigatran as Do Not Use.

In this month’s Question & Answer feature, we respond to a reader’s question about whether we had any new information regarding the risks of allergic reactions in recipients for the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines.