Focus on

Levetiracetam and rhabdomyolysis
Despite rhabdomyolysis being mostly associated with statins, scientific evidences from literature also support the involvement of antiepileptic drugs, such as phenobarbital and phenytoin.1 Recently, a case of this syndrome was reported in a 27 years old patient under monotherapy of levetiracetam, a...
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Muscular adverse drug reactions associated with proton pump inhibitors: an analysis of Italian data
Statins are considered the first potential pharmacological cause of muscular damage. Even though this was a well-known muscular adverse reaction, when fatal cases of rhabdomyolysis – the most severe muscular adverse reaction – triggered the withdrawal of cerivastatin from the market in 2001, a...
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Cutaneous adverse reactions to antiepileptic drugs
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2017;97(6):1
The skin is frequently affected by adverse drug reactions and basically any class of drugs – but NSAIDs, antibiotics and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) with particular frequency – can cause them (see table).1Children with an adverse drug reaction present a cutaneous manifestation in 16% to 35% of cases...
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Prescription inappropriateness in geriatrics: the STOPP&START criteria today
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2017;96(3):1
The management of the pharmacological therapy in the elderly patient has become more and more a relevant and critical aspect.1 The physiological aging process is characterised by structural and functional changes that affect all systems and translate in a reduced ability to maintain homeostasis and...
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Acetaminophen during pregnancy: possible consequences for the child?
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2016;95(11):5
Acetaminophen is generally considered safe during pregnancy. However, recent studies seem to link its use with some risks for the unborn. The signal has been highlighted by researchers of the University of Bristol and Cardiff, whom analyzed the long-term results of a cohort enrolled at birth (7,796...
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Light and shadows of natural products
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2016;94(9):1
These products are generally considered completely harmless, but their active ingredients exert a biological function in the organism and can, therefore, have side effects or interact with drugs. Non-conventional medicines in Italy Non-conventional therapies are therapeutic practices,...
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Biosimilar epoetins under safety scrutiny
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2016;93(3):7
Chronic renal failure represents nowadays one of the biggest public health issues worldwide: it is estimated that in Italy one person over seven people has a moderate impairment of the renal function, i.e. a halved renal functionality, or more than halved, in comparison with the norm.1 Chronic...
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Course on medication errors
The International School of Pharmacology of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture (EMFCSC) in Erice, Sicily organizes a Course on "Medication Errors" from 2nd to 6th May 2016. A medication error is an unintended failure in the treatment process that leads to, or has the...
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Nello Martini cleared from charges after seven years
Nello Martini, ex director and founder of the Italian Agency of Medicines (AIFA, in Italian) previously committed for trial by the state’s attorney of Turin Guariniello with the charge of “involuntary disaster” (literal translation of an Italian legal term) for the delayed update of 20 drug...
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Our website toward the future
Focus Farmacovigilanza 2015;90(9):4
Our website www.farmacovigilanza.eu (and its English version www.pharmaco-vigilance.eu) continues to grow. The number of users has doubled in the last year. With only two months left from the end of 2015 we can estimate that in December we will have reached and passed 200,000 yearly visitors. This...
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