Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin -Sanofi-Synthelabo) has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with fluorouracil (5-FU; Adrucil, and others) and leucovorin (LV; Wellcovorin) for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whose disease has recurred or progressed despite treatment with 5-FU/LV plus irinotecan (Camptosar - Medical Letter 1997; 39:8).

The gram-positive anaerobic bacillus Clostridium difficile is the most common identifiable cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The antibiotics most often implicated have been ampicillin, second and third generation cephalosporins, clindamycin and fluoroquinolones. The emergence in recent years of a new, more toxic epidemic strain (BI/NAP1), possibly related to widespread use of fluoroquinolones, has caused a marked increase in the incidence and severity of C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD).

Every pharmaceutical drug is a dose-dependent poison. This article describes the clinical presentation and treatment of some dangerous overdoses commonly reported in adults.

The drugs of choice for treatment of common cardiac arrhythmias are listed in Tables 1 and 2. Some drugs are recommended for indications that have not been approved by the FDA.

With increasing travel, immigration, use of immunosuppressive drugs and the spread of AIDS, physicians anywhere may see infections caused by parasites. The table in this document lists first-choice and alternative drugs for most parasitic infections.