We mentioned this in a previous newsletter but another query has come in from our hospices which has led to a more thorough review. Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease and work by blocking the transport of acid into the stomach to decrease the acidity. They are used widely in…
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We have had some interesting queries over the past few months which have required some time to answer in full. We also had some feedback from previous queries which we respond to below. All our visiting pharmacists are there to respond to your queries and if they can’t answer the question on the spot, we…
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Who issues medication safety alerts? The Medicines Healthcare Products and Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for issuing medication and medical device safety alerts. How are these communicated? This autumn, the way the MHRA communicates safety alerts is changing. All medication safety and critical alerts that need to be actioned by healthcare organisations will be issued…
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Motilin is a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the small intestine. It increases gastro-intestinal motility and peristalsis and accelerates gastric emptying. It functions mainly between meals and in doing so prepares the gut for the next meal. Erythromycin happens to be a motilin agonist – working in the same way as the hormone – so can be used when metoclopramide or other prokinetics are unsuitable. It is effective in about half of cases, and concerns about the development of bacterial resistance…
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The pandemic has made it difficult for hospices to arrange training and there has been less demand for Ashtons pharmacists to present seminars at sites. Consequently, Ashtons is now able to make seminar presentations available via online platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, meaning that all available staff with online access can participate in the training, without having to meet up in a room together…
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The concerns presented by COVID-19, and the need to prevent its spread within hospitals, has forced many customers to put critical face-to-face life support and mandatory training on hold. The balancing act now is keeping up with statutory and mandatory requirements while simultaneously adhering to social distancing, restrictions on the gathering of groups and keeping everyone safe. While the HSE did allow extension times on the expiry of first aid certificates, the first aid training industry in England is confident that enough courses…
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Cytotoxic drugs (sometimes known as antineoplastic) describe a group of medicines that contain chemicals which are toxic to cells, preventing their replication or growth. As well as being used as chemo-therapeutic agents to treat cancer, they are also used to treat long-term conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis…
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Presentations at national conferences and courses can have a lasting influence on symptom management. Following a talk at one of the ‘Oxford’ courses(1), an increasing number of prescribers are now using ranitidine to reduce the secretions which make inoperable bowel obstruction such a challenging condition. Treatment in the past would often involve insertion of a nasogastric tube…
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At a recent conference, it was pointed out that the bioavailability of oral cyclizine is close to 50% so the practice of using the same maximum daily dose of 150mg by subcutaneous injection or infusion may need to be rethought. This is based on a PhD thesis and small number of healthy volunteers so data is limited…
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Ashtons provides a wide range of training courses, including e-learning and clinical training seminars. You can now choose from these ten clinical training seminars…
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