Why do patients stop taking medications? I’ve spent a lot of time and effort working with patients to improve their drug therapy, but it really doesn’t matter if they don’t actually take the medication that is best for them. Here’s a list of the most common reasons...
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 potentially raise concentrations of the active metabolite and increase the risk...
Most often, breathing difficulties are due to a chronic disease process like asthma or COPD. These are obvious possible diagnoses for any patient presenting with respiratory concerns. If you are a healthcare professional, you must recognize that there are a...
It is really hard to narrow down a list of thousands of drugs to 5. Right or wrong, I did it. I based my subjective list upon frequency of use, highest risk for medication errors, significance when an error occurs, drug interactions, and risk of hospitalization....
78 year old patient recently on Dilantin (phenytoin) suspension had a seizure so a total Dilantin level was checked. (A free level probably would’ve been ideal in the case.) The level came back at around 4 which was unusual for this patient. Their normal...
