Drug Safety Update: Volume 1, Issue 8, March 2008

In this issue:

Drug safety advice

• Ketoconazole: restricted indications
• Tazocin (piperacillin/tazobactam): new formulation
• Telbivudine: risk of peripheral neuropathy with pegylated interferon
• Modafinil: serious skin reactions, hypersensitivity, and psychiatric symptoms

Yellow Card scheme update*

• Yellow Card Centres - important contribution to drug safety

Hot topic

• Nasal decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine or ephedrine: update on sales restrictions

Stop Press

• Boots’ Medisure Domiciliary Dosage System (DDS): risk of incorrect dose
• Recent letters to healthcare professionals

Other information from the MHRA

• Injectable medicines for cosmetic procedures: supply and administration
• Earlier access to medicines
• Patient Information Leaflet of the month
   

*In the first row of the table for this Yellow Card scheme update, the head pharmacist should be Christine Randall only, the email address for the centre should be YCCMersey@lrippu.nhs.uk, and the telephone number should be 0151 794 8206/8122. The telephone number for YCC Scotland (row 3 of table in the article) should be 0131 242 2919.