by Eric Christianson | Oct 19, 2022 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
Acute migraine affects up to 26% of women, and up to 9% of men in the US. It is characterized by a moderate to severe headache that lasts for 4-72 hours and may be unilateral, cause nausea/vomiting, pulsating pain, or photophobia. First-line treatment options include...
by Eric Christianson | Oct 12, 2022 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
Is as needed (PRN) allopurinol appropriate? I have seen as-needed (PRN) orders for allopurinol in practice. It has been rare, but it has happened. Did I like it? No. Allopurinol helps to lower uric acid levels. Allopurinol inhibits xanthine oxidase which is an enzyme...
by Eric Christianson | Sep 14, 2022 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
Benztropine (Cogentin) is an older anticholinergic agent primarily used for movement-type disorders and adverse effects. I’ll share some of my most important benztropine clinical pearls in this article. Benztropine can be used in the management of acute...
by Eric Christianson | Sep 11, 2022 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
Lowering uric acid is the key to reducing gout flares. Both allopurinol (podcast) and febuxostat are effective at performing this task. However, there are some considerations you need to be aware when deciding to utilize allopurinol versus febuxostat. I’ll break...
by Eric Christianson | Aug 24, 2022 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
I frequently work with patients and caregivers who are managing patients at the end of life and in hospice-type situations. Knowing and understanding differences between common opioids is critical to my work as a clinical pharmacist. In this article, I’ll...
by Eric Christianson | Jul 20, 2022 | Neurology, Pain, and Musculoskeletal Medication and Disease State Clinical Pearls
Valproic acid is most commonly used for the management of seizures, bipolar disorder, and migraines. In my practice, I do see it occasionally used to help manage dementia-related aggressive behaviors. There are a lot of valproic acid clinical pearls that you need to...
