Christchurch Medicines Information Service

The risk of developing a life threatening arrhythmia at any given QTc interval (the QT interval corrected for heart rate) varies widely between patients. In patients with a high baseline risk of QTc prolongation, QTc prolonging drugs should be either avoided or the QTc interval should be monitore...

Rivaroxaban (Factor Xa inhibitor), dabigatran etexilate (direct thrombin inhibitor), or warfarin (vitamin K epoxide reductase inhibitor) can be used as oral anticoagulants for most indications. Warfarin remains first line for patients with mechanical heart valves or severe chronic kidney disease....

There are over 240,000 people in NZ currently diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (mostly type 2), and possibly another 100,000 undiagnosed. In October 2018, vildagliptin became the first dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor funded in NZ. It is one of a number of DPP-4 inhibitors used internatio...

Sacubitril + valsartan is now available in New Zealand and fully subsidised under Special Authority criteria. Eligible patients must have NYHA/WHO functional class II, III or IV heart failure; a left ventricular ejection fraction of <35%; and be receiving standard heart failure therapy. It can...

Herbal products are commonly used by many patients alongside conventional medicines. The aim of this bulletin is to describe potential interactions with five popular products; St John’s wort, ginkgo, garlic, echinacea and fish oil. Pharmacokinetic interactions (see table below): Enzym...

Statins are one of the most widely prescribed classes of medicines; in New Zealand over three million prescriptions were dispensed in 2012. Drug interactions may increase the risk of serious adverse reactions associated with statins, such as myopathy. Alarmingly, four Christchurch patients in a s...