The Medical Letter - 2020
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April 6, 2020 (Issue 1595)
- Some Drugs for COVID-19
The rapid spread and severity of COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2) have raised some questions about use of various drugs in patients with the disease and whether currently available drugs could be... - Two Drugs for Sickle Cell Disease: Crizanlizumab (Adakveo) and Voxelotor (Oxbryta)
The FDA has approved two new drugs for sickle cell disease: crizanlizumab-tmca (Adakveo – Novartis), an IV P-selectin blocker, and voxelotor (Oxbryta – GBT), an oral hemoglobin... - Bempedoic Acid (Nexletol) for Lowering LDL-Cholesterol
The FDA has approved the oral adenosine triphosphate-citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor bempedoic acid for use alone (Nexletol – Esperion) and in a fixed-dose combination with the cholesterol... - Intravenous Cetirizine (Quzyttir) for Acute Urticaria
Quzyttir (TerSera), an IV formulation of the second-generation H1-antihistamine cetirizine, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of acute urticaria in patients ≥6...
March 23, 2020 (Issue 1594)
- Drugs for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, often accompanied by bloating.IBS is classified according to the... - Table: Safety of Drugs for IBS in Pregnancy and Lactation (online only)
View the Table: Safety of Drugs for IBS in Pregnancy and Lactation - Addendum: Drospirenone (Slynd) - A New Progestin-Only Oral Contraceptive
In our article on Slynd (Med Lett Drugs Ther 2020; 62:18), the drospirenone-only oral contraceptive, we mentioned that drospirenone has antiandrogenic activity that could improve acne and...
March 9, 2020 (Issue 1593)
- Peanut Allergen Powder (Palforzia)
The FDA has approved peanut allergen powder-dnfp (Palforzia – Aimmune) for use as oral immunotherapy to mitigate allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, caused by accidental peanut... - Lasmiditan (Reyvow) and Ubrogepant (Ubrelvy) for Acute Treatment of Migraine
Lasmiditan (Reyvow – Lilly), an oral serotonin (5-HT1F) receptor agonist, and ubrogepant (Ubrelvy – Allergan), an oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor... - Consensi - A Fixed-Dose Combination of Amlodipine and Celecoxib
Consensi (Coeptis/Burke), a fixed-dose combination of the calcium channel blocker amlodipine (Norvasc, and others) and the COX-2 selective NSAID celecoxib (Celebrex, and... - Addendum: Brolucizumab (Beovu) for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
We reviewed brolucizumab (Beovu – Novartis) for treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration in our February 10 issue. On February 23, the American Society of Retina... - Addendum: Drug Interaction between Opioids and Oral P2Y12 Platelet Inhibitors
Opioids delay gastric emptying and the absorption of many oral drugs, including the P2Y12 inhibitors clopidogrel (Plavix, and generics), prasugrel (Effient, and generics),...
February 24, 2020 (Issue 1592)
- Drugs for Depression
Complete remission of symptoms is the goal of treatment for major depressive disorder; a partial response is associated with an increased risk of relapse. Improvement in symptoms can occur...
February 10, 2020 (Issue 1591)
- Reduction of Cardiovascular Risk with Icosapent Ethyl (Vascepa)
Icosapent ethyl (Vascepa – Amarin), the ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), has been approved by the FDA for use as an adjunct to maximally tolerated statin therapy to reduce the... - Drospirenone (Slynd) - A New Progestin-Only Oral Contraceptive
The FDA has approved a progestin-only oral contraceptive ("minipill") containing drospirenone (Slynd – Exeltis). All other progestin-only oral contraceptives available in the US... - Istradefylline (Nourianz) for Parkinson's Disease
The FDA has approved istradefylline (Nourianz — Kyowa Kirin), an oral adenosine A2A receptor antagonist, for use as an adjunct to carbidopa/levodopa in adults with Parkinson's... - Brolucizumab (Beovu) for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Brolucizumab-dbll (Beovu — Novartis), a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor, has been approved by the FDA as an intravitreal injection for treatment of neovascular (wet)...
January 27, 2020 (Issue 1590)
- Drugs for ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder that has been diagnosed in up to 10% of school-age children in the US and frequently persists into... - In Brief: Tafamidis (Vyndaqel; Vyndamax) for Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy
The FDA has approved tafamidis, an oral transthyretin stabilizer, in 2 different formulations (see Table 1) for treatment of adults with transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)....
January 13, 2020 (Issue 1589)
- Antiviral Drugs for Influenza
Influenza is generally a self-limited illness, but pneumonia, respiratory failure, and death can occur. FDA-approved antiviral drugs for influenza are listed in Table 2. The neuraminidase... - Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor (Trikafta) for Cystic Fibrosis
The FDA has approved Trikafta (Vertex), a fixed-dose combination of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor, for... - Corticosteroids in Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Recently updated guidelines from the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) address the use of corticosteroids as an adjunct to antimicrobials... - Expanded Table: Antiviral Drugs for Influenza (online only)
View the Expanded Table: Antiviral Drugs for Influenza
