Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2007
Review Comparative StudyComparison of botulinum neurotoxin preparations for the treatment of cervical dystonia.
Comparative studies of botulinum neurotoxin preparations to date have generally examined 2 preparations at prespecified dose ratios in relatively homogeneous groups of patients under controlled study conditions. It is unclear whether the differences in adverse-event rates that have been noted under these controlled conditions can be generalized to the broader population of cervical dystonia patients, who are treated with a wider range of doses in a variety of settings. ⋯ The results of this analysis indicate differences in adverse-event rates between botulinum neurotoxin preparations, suggesting that use of these products should be based on their individual dosing, efficacy, and safety profiles.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2007
ReviewThe quality of reporting of randomized controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine: a survey of 13 randomly selected journals from mainland China.
The number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is increasing. However, there have been few systematic assessments of the quality of reporting of these trials. ⋯ The findings of this study indicate that the quality of reporting of RCTs of TCM has improved, but remains poor.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyPharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of epoetin delta in two studies in healthy volunteers and two studies in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Epoetin delta, unlike recombinant erythropoietins, is produced in a human cell line and therefore has a human-type glycosylation profile. ⋯ These studies in healthy volunteers and patients with chronic kidney disease indicate that the pharmacokinetics of epoetin delta are dose dependent but nonlinear, leading to dose-dependent increases in hemoglobin levels. The pharmacodynamic response to epoetin delta appeared to be as expected for an epoetin.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialSingle-dose intravenous tramadol for acute migraine pain in adults: a single-blind, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Tramadol, an atypical opioid, is a narcotic analgesic used for pain management. A search of the current literature found no studies examining the efficacy of intravenous tramadol on migraine pain. ⋯ Intravenous tramadol appeared to be more effective than placebo in pain response rate at the end of the first hour. The slow infusion of tramadol 100 mg in 100-mL saline solution was well tolerated in this group of adult migraineurs.
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Clinical therapeutics · Jun 2007
Cost-effectiveness of clopidogrel in myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation: a European model based on the CLARITY and COMMIT trials.
Several health economic studies have shown that the use of clopidogrel is cost-effective to prevent ischemic events in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and unstable angina. ⋯ Treatment of these STEMI patients with clopidogrel appeared to be cost-effective in all 3 European countries studied. Predicted ICERs were below generally accepted threshold values.