February 2014 - Med Ed 101

Cimetidine and Drug Interactions

Date February 26, 2014 Author By Eric Christianson Category GI, Seizures

There was an 85 year old female with an extensive seizure history on Dilantin 300 mg daily. Previous Dilantin level was 14 and the patient was not displaying any signs or symptoms of toxicity. They began having some GI complaints and was diagnosed with GERD and put on cimetidine. About 2 weeks later, it was […]

Polypharmacy – What Does it Look Like?

Date February 23, 2014 Author By Eric Christianson Category Case Studies, Personal Stories, Pharmacy, Polypharmacy

Polypharmacy is a horrible problem in geriatrics. I came across this medication list, and just wanted to give you a brief idea of some of the thoughts that go through a clinical pharmacist’s head. Scary I know, but just stay with me, as you will most likely see something at the end of this post […]

Trazodone use for Insomnia

Date February 19, 2014 Author By Eric Christianson Category Psych, Thyroid

A 68 year old female was having difficulty with some anxiety throughout the day but more problematic to the patient was that she could not sleep at night. Multiple different non-drug interventions were tried, but none seemed to make any difference. Trazodone was finally prescribed and insomnia did improve, but only minimally. This particular patient […]

Drug Induced Hypertension Case

Date February 16, 2014 Author By Eric Christianson Category Hypertension, Pain

This 76 year old patient was on a laundry list of blood pressure medications. Hydrochlorothiazide, losartan, metoprolol, terazosin, amlodipine, and recently had clonidine added to their regimen with minimal success. Systolic BP’s still consistently ran around 160 even with aggressive treatment. About a year ago, the patient was having really problematic pain associated with osteoarthritis […]

Drug Interaction Causing Pregnancy

Date February 12, 2014 Author By Eric Christianson Category Drug Interactions, Women's Health

A 32 year old female has been struggling with fatigue, sadness, and overall symptoms of depression. Rather than utilizing traditional antidepressants as recommended by her primary care provider, the patient had heard from a friend that the herbal supplement St. John’s Wart had helped with their symptoms so she decided to give it a try. […]