Herbal medicines and acute medical emergency admissions to hospital.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Simon Constable
Publications and source records attributed to Simon Constable.
Pharmacogenetics in clinical practice: considerations for testing.
Pharmacogenetics is a rapidly evolving field that will undoubtedly lead to the development of pharmacogenetic tests. Such tests will need to be assimilated into healthcare systems, but represent a further call on scarce healthcare resources. Therefore, in order for a pharmacogenetic test to fulfill its potential beyond the laboratory and into the clinical environment, it must prove itself on a wide range of multifaceted criteria. The test must have proven and reproducible analytical and clinical validity, and stand up to critical appraisal of clinical utility and cost-effectiveness. Pharmacogenetic testing can be considered to be a form of screening, and the experience that has been gained to date in evaluating other forms of screening tests may prove beneficial in evaluating pharmacogenetic technology. It is essential that the goals of pharmacogenetic testing are defined as early as possible to ensure that appropriate studies can be designed to provide the evidence base, and thereby enable appropriate evaluation of the technology by clinicians and healthcare administrators for incorporation into clinical practice. This review focuses on issues that will need to be considered in the scientific assessment of pharmacogenetic testing.
Biomarkers↗
Drugs and the retina.
The retina is relatively protected from systemic drug administration because of the blood-retinal barrier, a highly selective mechanism adapted to providing a regulated homeostatic environment for this highly specialised tissue. However, a number of drugs have been associated with retinal toxicity. Vigabatrin, as an adjunctive therapy for the management of partial epilepsy, is associated with visual field defects in approximately 40% of patients. Hydroxychloroquine, used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, is also associated with a retinopathy. In view of this, ophthalmological screening and monitoring is recommended during prescription of both of these drugs. In these cases, the retina is the site for an adverse drug reaction and the dose of therapy may be important in determining the likelihood of retinal toxicity. However, in the case of cytomegalovirus retinitis, the retina is the intended site for pharmacological action. The treatment of this condition with the antiviral agents ganciclovir, valganciclovir, foscarnet and cidofovir, can also be associated with significant systemic toxicity.
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions↗