The FDA has added a "black box" warning about the risks of QT prolongation and the potentially fatal torsades de pointes (TdP) ventricular tachycardia to the labeling of droperidol (Inapsine - Akorn), an antiemetic used mostly in anesthesia. The Canadian Health Protection Branch has issued a similar warning. Some anesthesiologists have written to The Medical Letter to express their displeasure with these warnings.

Anastrozole (Arimidex - AstraZeneca, Medical Letter 1996; 38:61), an aromatase inhibitor, has received accelerated approval from the FDA for adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with early hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. The drug was approved for treatment of postmenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer in 1996.

Cinacalcet hydrochloride (Sensipar - Amgen) has been approved by the FDA for treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in adult patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis and treatment of hypercalcemia in patients with parathyroid carcinoma.

In the recent Medical Letter article on the treatment of Clostridium difficile–associated disease (CDAD) we wrote: “Healthcare workers caring for patients with C. difficile infection should follow contact isolation precautions, especially use of gloves and hand washing with soap and water after glove removal. Alcohol-based products such as hand sanitizers will not eradicate C. difficile spores.”1 One reader pointed out that alcoholbased products do eradicate some C. difficile spores and have been invaluable against other pathogens.In an unpublished study available as an abstract, both...

The FDA has approved an extended-release formulation of clonidine hydrochloride (Kapvay– Shionogi) for treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children 6-17 years old. It is the second alpha₂-adrenergic agonist approved for this indication; guanfacine hydrochloride (Intuniv) was the first, but only clonidine is approved for use with stimulants.

The FDA has approved belatacept (bel at´ a sept; Nulojix – Bristol-Myers Squibb) for prevention of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a kidney transplant.

The FDA has approved aflibercept (a flib’ er sept; Eylea – Regeneron) for treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Three retrospective studies have recently reported an association between beta-blocker use and a reduction in breast cancer metastasis and recurrence. No prospective, randomized trials have been published.

The FDA has approved deferiprone (de fer’ i prone; Ferriprox – ApoPharma), an oral chelating agent available in Europe since 1999, for use as a second-line treatment of iron overload due to blood transfusions (transfusional hemosiderosis) in patients with thalassemia. Two other iron chelating agents, deferoxamine (Desferal, and others), which is usually administered subcutaneously, and oral deferasirox (Exjade), are available for use as first-line therapy in the US.

The FDA has approved a new formulation (Exparel – Pacira) of the local anesthetic bupivacaine (Marcaine, and others) for use in the management of postsurgical pain in adults.