View the Comparison Table: Some Antibiotics for MRSA Skin and Skin Structure Infections

Penciclovir 1% cream (Denavir - SmithKline Beecham) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of recurrent orolabial herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in adults. Acyclovir (Zovirax) is also available in a topical formulation for treatment of herpes simplex infections, but is approved by the FDA only for use in immunocompromised patients. Oral drugs approved for treatment of some herpes simplex infections, but not recurrent orolabial infections, include acyclovir, valacyclovir (Valtrex) and famciclovir (Famvir), which is rapidly hydrolyzed to...

Telavancin (Vibativ - Astellas and Theravance), a lipoglycopeptide derivative of vancomycin (Vancocin, and others), has received FDA approval for treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by susceptible gram-positive bacteria in adults.

The FDA has approved omadacycline (Nuzyra – Paratek), a semisynthetic tetracycline derivative, for once-daily IV and oral treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CAP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs) in adults.

A reader expressed disappointment that our recent listing of “Some Warfarin Drug Interactions”1 did not include acetaminophen. Perhaps it should have. Acetaminophen can increase the anticoagulant effect of warfarin, particularly with continued use, but it does so inconsistently. The mechanism of this interaction has not been established, but may be related to an acetaminophen metabolite inhibiting vitamin K-epoxide reductase, the target for warfarin’s anticoagulant effect.2Patient susceptibility varies, possibly on a genetic basis; occasional use of acetaminophen generally has little or...

The FDA has announced that it is requiring changes in the labeling of systemic fluoroquinolones to warn that the risk of serious adverse effects, including tendinitis, peripheral neuropathy and CNS effects, generally outweighs their benefit for the treatment of acute sinusitis, acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections. For these infections, the new labels will recommend reserving fluoroquinolones for patients with no other treatment options.

Since the last Medical Letter review of cephalosporin antibiotics (volume 25, page 57, 1983), many new cephalosporins have become available in the USA.

Fosfomycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic used parenterally in Europe for many years, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as fosfomycin tromethamine (Monurol - Forest) for single-dose oral treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.

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...

Many drugs can cause psychiatric symptoms, but a causal connection is often difficult to establish. Psychiatric symptoms that emerge during drug treatment could also be due to the underlying illness, previously unrecognized psychopathology, or psychosocial factors. The withdrawal of some drugs can cause symptoms such as anxiety, psychosis, delirium, agitation or depression.

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