2012's Top 5 for Pharmacists

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/775232?src=mp 

After many busy months, I finally get a chance to update this blog.
I personally think number 1 read article is good for everyone.

click here to view the article

IV Acetaminophen Improves Pain Management and Reduces Opioid Requirements in Surgical Patients: A Review of the Clinical Data and Case-based Presentations.

I found this quite interesting since acetaminophen is such an old and common drug. We've been using it for ages. We can use IV acetaminophen as an "add-on" to opioid and/or NSAIDs especially in patients who cannot take pills such as post op patients.

http://www.pharmacypracticenews.com/ViewArticle.aspx?d=Special%2bReports&d_id=62&i=April+2012&i_id=829&a_id=20499

Tuberculosis and PDR/MDR-TB

Key Point from Updated WHO Guideline

1. Rapid drug susceptibility testing for isoniazid and rifampicin or rifampicin alone allows earlier identification of patients with drug-resistant TB. It is considered the most cost effective approach.
   
2. Monitoring patients with sputum smear microscopy and culture, rather than sputum smear microscopy alone, for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) to detect failure as early as possible during treatment.
3. The use of fluoroquinolones and ethionamide, with later-generation fluoroquinolone, rather than earlier-generation forms of the drug recommended for patients with MDR-TB. For example avoiding the use of ofloxacin and use later generation instead.
4. For patients with MDR-TB, the minimum duration of treatment has been extended by 2 months from previous guidelines to reflect research showing improved treatment success with the longer duration. Intensive treatment should therefore last at least 8 months, and for those who have not been treated with second-line drugs for TB in the past, treatment should extend to 20 months. The duration may be adjusted for some patients according to their clinical and bacteriologic response.
5. Early use of antiretroviral agents for HIV-infected patients with TB who are receiving second-line drug regimens, irrespective of CD4 cell-count, as early as possible (within the first 8 weeks) after initiation of anti-TB treatment.

2011 Updated WHO Guidelines for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

New guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the management of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) offer the latest approaches for better control of the disease that claims millions of lives each year.

The guidelines, published online August 4 in the European Respiratory Journal, update recommendations from previous guidelines published in 2008 and are intended to help inform practitioners, particularly those in lower-income settings, of the very latest and most cost-effective standards of care for achieving optimal patient outcomes.

Click Here for full guideline

Clinical Practice Guideline

ICH Good Clinical Practice Guideline (Thai Version)
from Thailand FDA
contain ICH GCP (International Conference on Harmonization)

Guideline on how to conduct a research by ICH standard