A 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23; Pneumovax 23 - Merck) is the only pneumococcal vaccine approved for use in adults. It has reduced the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (meningitis or bacteremic pneumonia), but not mortality, in immunocompetent older adults.2 PPSV23 has not been shown to reduce the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in immunocompromised patients.

Click here to view the free full article.

Fourteen states in the US - Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington - now permit, or soon will permit, some medical use of marijuana (Cannabis sativa). In some states, licensed facilities dispense botanical cannabis by prescription. In others, limited self-cultivation is permitted for medical use.

Once thought to be a beneficial response to critical illness, hyperglycemia is now recognized as independently associated with death and other adverse outcomes in various groups of critically ill patients. Whether normalization of blood glucose by insulin infusion is beneficial in such patients has been a subject of debate in the critical care community. Some new guidelines have been published.

Click here to view the free full article.

The FDA has approved Simbrinza (Alcon), an ophthalmic combination of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor brinzolamide and the selective alpha₂-adrenergic receptor agonist brimonidine, for reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Simbrinza is the first product to combine drugs from these 2 classes.

The FDA has approved an inhaled, rapid-acting, dry-powder formulation of recombinant human insulin (Afrezza – Mannkind/Sanofi) for treatment of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In patients with type 1 diabetes, the drug must be used in combination with long-acting insulin. Another inhaled, rapid-acting insulin (Exubera) was approved in 2006 for the same indication, but was withdrawn from the market the following year.

The FDA has approved dupilumab (Dupixent – Sanofi/Regeneron), a subcutaneously-injected fully human monoclonal antibody, for treatment of adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that has not responded to topical therapies. It can be used with or without topical corticosteroids.

The FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Regeneron's investigational monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab (REGEN-COV) to be administered together by IV infusion or SC injection for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (≥12 years old and weigh ≥40 kg) who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization.

The FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Lilly's investigational monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) and etesevimab (LY-CoV016) to be administered together for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients ≥12 years old who weigh ≥40 kg and are at high risk of progressing to severe disease and/or hospitalization (see Table 1). Bamlanivimab received an EUA for use as monotherapy in such patients in November 2020. Regeneron's investigational monoclonal antibodies casirivimab (REGN10933) and imdevimab (REGN10987) are also authorized for use...

The investigational monoclonal antibody bebtelovimab (LY-CoV1404 – Lilly) has been granted an FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for IV treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients ≥12 years old who weigh ≥40 kg and are at high risk of progressing to severe disease, including hospitalization and death, and for whom alternative treatment options are unavailable or inappropriate. Bebtelovimab is active against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2; sotrovimab (VIR-7831) is the only other monoclonal antibody currently available for treatment of COVID-19 that is active...

Three products are currently available in the US for treatment of high-risk,1 nonhospitalized adults with mild to moderate COVID-19: oral ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), IV remdesivir (Veklury), and oral molnupiravir (Lagevrio). Remdesivir is FDA-approved for such use; nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and molnupiravir are available under an FDA Emergency Use Authorization. Because the pivotal clinical trials of these products for outpatient use were conducted in patients who were not vaccinated against COVID-19, some clinicians have questioned whether they can benefit vaccinated...