Pitfalls in Prescribing

Five percent of all accident and emergency admissions are caused by prescribed medicines

Contents: Treatment failure due to antacids. Grapefruit juice may cause toxic plasma concentrations of many common drugs. Warfarin. Amiodarone. All NSAIDs (including COX-2 inhibitors). A therapeutic minefield - spironolactone, ACEIs, NSAIDs (old and new) and all diuretics - drugs which disrupt the fine equilibrium of renal function. Sudden cardiac collapse caused by often-prescribed drugs causing QTc interval prolongation. Some important interactions between drugs at shared sites of action and/or therapeutic effect. Serious drug:drug interactions during liver metabolism. Alcohol use (and abuse) causes two serious, little-recognized prescribing pitfalls. Drug monitoring to avoid pitfalls - which drugs? Which tests? How frequently? Drug-induced lung disease, often missed in primary care. Facts the prescriber needs to know about patient non-compliance, and how to improve compliance. Avoiding pitfalls in prescribing for elderly patients. Clinical quizzes. Solutions.