Switching antipsychotics – a new tool to make it easier
Switching antipsychotics may be needed if a patient is not responding to the medicine or has unacceptable side effects. Minimising the risk of psychosis relapse and other serious side effects when switching antipsychotic medicines can be challenging. Professor Nicholas Keks from the Centre for Mental Health Education and Research in Victoria and co-authors provide an online tool to guide how to change from one antipsychotic to another.
Amiodarone – do the cons outweigh the pros for older people?
Amiodarone is a powerful antiarrhythmic medicine but interacts with many medicines and can have serious adverse effects. The risks may outweigh the benefits for elderly people who are more likely to use multiple medicines and have pre-existing conditions. Dr Ravinay Bhindi, from the Department of Cardiology at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, and colleagues review the use of amiodarone and how to monitor and manage possible adverse effects.
Adjusting medicine dosage in chronic kidney disease
Drugs excreted in the kidney require dose reduction for people with chronic kidney disease. The estimated glomerular filtration rate, commonly used to guide dose adjustment, can be misleading for patients with extremes of body mass and other patient subsets. Associate Professor Darren Roberts at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney and co-authors explain the different measures of quantifying kidney function to support optimal dose reduction.
Also in the October issue of Australian Prescriber:
• The Prescribing Skills Assessment: a step towards safer prescribing.
• New drugs: binimetinib plus encorafenib for metastatic melanoma, lumacaftor/ivacaftor for cystic fibrosis, plitidepsin for multiple myeloma, and tezacaftor/ivacaftor for cystic fibrosis
