Arch Intern Med
-
Few data are available regarding the prevalence of potentially dangerous drug-drug, drug-laboratory, and drug-disease interactions among outpatients. Our objectives were to determine how frequently clinicians prescribe drugs in violation of black box warnings for these issues and to determine how frequently such prescribing results in harm. ⋯ About 7 in 1000 outpatients received a prescription violating a black box warning. Few incidents resulted in detectable harm.
-
A large proportion of Americans are enrolled in 3-tier pharmacy benefit plans. We studied whether patients enrolled in such plans who receive generic or preferred brand-name agents when initiating chronic therapy were more adherent to treatment than those who received nonpreferred brand-name medications. ⋯ In 3-tier pharmacy benefit plans, prescribing generic or preferred medications within a therapeutic class is associated with improvements in adherence to therapy.
-
There is increasing evidence that C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, a measure of inflammation, is an independent risk factor for the development of hypertension in older adults. However, it is unknown whether a similar relationship exists in younger individuals. ⋯ C-reactive protein is associated with hypertension in young adults, but in contrast to the finding in older populations, the association is no longer present after adjusting for BMI.