As one of the few significant new treatment options approved for reducing the risk of cardiovascular events since statins were approved about 30 years ago, when should icosapent ethyl (Vascepa) actually be used? Icosapent ethyl, sold as Vascepa by Amarin, is a...
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are a well-known staple in the management of upper GI bleeds (UGIB). Recently, there was a question regarding the efficacy and appropriateness of PPI use in lower GI bleeds (LGIB). First, let’s evaluate some common characteristics used to...
Excess calcium levels can be life-threatening if they become severely elevated (>14 mg/dL), causing symptoms such as polyuria and polydipsia due to nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, nephrolithiasis, bone pain, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, confusion, rare cardiac...
While Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors aren’t used incredibly often, we wanted to provide a comparison of DPP4 inhibitors. DPP4 inhibitors are used in the treatment of diabetes and function by inhibiting the breakdown of endogenous incretin hormones...
Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, or PDE-5 inhibitors, are often the first-line therapy for erectile dysfunction. PDE-5 inhibitors do not produce an erection in the absence of stimulation – rather they enhance the effect of nitric oxide by inhibiting...
Last week, the FDA approved finerenone (Kerendia) to treat patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with type 2 diabetes. Finerenone is a nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA). The approval of finerenone was due to the results of the...