View the Comparison Chart: Antiviral Drugs for Seasonal Influenza for 2024-2025

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved HibTITER (Lederle-Praxis) and PedvaxHIB (Merck), two new Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines, for use in infants as part of their primary immunization schedule.

Men with primary or secondary hypogonadism require lifelong androgen replacement to prevent osteoporosis and maintain normal muscle mass, erythropoiesis and sexual function (AM Matsumoto, Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am, 23:857, 1994). Until recently, the standard treatment for male hypogonadism has been an intramuscular injection of a long-acting testosterone ester every two to three weeks, which leads to serum testosterone concentrations that are high for a few days, normal for a few days more, and then may be subnormal until the next dose. Two transdermal preparations of testosterone...

Femcon Fe (Warner Chilcott) is being advertised as the world's only chewable oral contraceptive. It was formerly marketed as Ovcon 35 Fe. Each packet provides 21 tablets containing 0.4 mg norethindrone and 35 mcg ethinyl estradiol, and 7 tablets with only 75 mg of ferrous fumarate. Femcon Fe has the same active hormonal ingredients as Ovcon 35 (Warner Chilcott), which has been available since 1976, and its generic equivalent Balziva (Barr); neither formulation contains iron. The spearmint-flavored Femcon Fe pill can be chewed or swallowed whole. According to the package labeling, if the pill...

View Table: Mechanisms of Drug Interactions

Ketorolac (kee'; toe role ak) tromethamine (Toradol), manufactured by Syntex but also marketed by Roche, is the first parenteral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to become available for analgesic use in the USA. Parenteral indomethacin (Indocin I.V.) has been marketed here since 1985, but only for treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in newborn infants. Other parenteral NSAIDs are available in other parts of the world, but low potency, poor aqueous solubility, and substantial tissue irritation on injection have limited their usefulness. Ketorolac has been approved by the US ...

With the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia, health problems endemic to the Arabian Peninsula may be coming to the attention of physicians in the USA and other areas.

Nabumetone (Relafen - SmithKline Beecham), a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The drug has been available in the United Kingdom since 1987. The manufacturer claims that nabumetone is as effective as other NSAIDs and causes a relatively low incidence of peptic ulcers.

Lasers have been used in dermatology for many years. Recently, however, improvements in laser technology have led to much wider use of lasers for treatment of cosmetic skin problems. Many different types of lasers are available; the US Food and Drug Administration gives manufacturers permission to market laser systems for specific indications.

Mibefradil dihydrochloride (Posicor - Roche), a chemically distinct nondihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is being heavily promoted as the first T-type calcium-channel blocker for treatment of hypertension and chronic stable angina.