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Clopidogrel Failure: Why Did I Have Another Heart Attack?
A 62-year-old male had a heart attack about 9 months ago. He was stented and placed on both aspirin 81 mg daily and clopidogrel 75 mg daily. He presents today to the emergency department and is...
Glucagon Clinical Pearls
Glucagon can be a lifesaver, literally. Glucagon’s primary use is in the setting of severe hypoglycemia. Glucagon works by increasing cyclic AMP which causes glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. This...
Top 5 Enzyme Inducers You’ll Be Tested On
Enzyme inducers most frequently reduce the concentrations of other drugs. This can ultimately lead to treatment failure. In rare situations (i.e. prodrugs), starting an enzyme inducer can...
My Favorite Deprescribing Resource
In geriatrics, deprescribing has become a very popular term. Deprescribing is simply reducing a patient's medication burden by reducing and discontinuing medications. This is often done as the...
Polypharmacy Case Study
In this polypharmacy case study, I pick out some medications that we may be able to discontinue. An 88-year-old male is looking to reduce his medication burden. Current medications include: Aspirin...
Leg Pains and Medication Overload
An 81-year-old patient is complaining of cramps in his legs which are particularly bothersome at night. He also states that he gets a creepy/crawly sensation in both of his legs. He was initiated on...
How a Head Cold Led to Acute Urinary Retention
A 71-year-old male with a history of BPH had developed a head cold. His current medications include finasteride and tamsulosin. He tried some loratadine for a day or two for his rhinitis which he...
5 Tips for Developing a Clinical Pharmacist Practice in an Outpatient Clinic
I had a discussion with Blair Thielemier at the Pharmapreneur Academy (the queen of developing clinical pharmacy practices) the other day about developing a clinical pharmacist practice in an...
5 Anticholinergic Medications Used for Unique Indications
There are dozens of medications that have anticholinergic activity or are considered an anticholinergic medication. While most of the agents are used for their antihistamine, sedative, or...
Do You Remember These 5 Phenytoin Drug Interactions
Phenytoin drug interactions are common in our polypharmacy patient. The key is to monitor patients closely as well as carefully reviewing the medication list when a new medication is going to be...