Bulletins - Other
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Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Aminoglycosides - May 25, 2022
Aminoglycosides (gentamicin, tobramycin and amikacin) are bactericidal antibiotics used to treat infections caused by Gram-negative organisms. Therapeutic drug monitoring is recommended to ensure adequate dosing and prevent adverse effects such as nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. Aminoglycosides d...



Gluten and Lactose in Medicines - September 1, 2021
Gluten and lactose may be present in medicines as excipients. Excipients are intended to be pharmacologically inactive ingredients, and include binders, absorbents, protectants and colouring agents. Some patients need to, or choose to, avoid gluten or lactose. This bulletin summarises what to con...



Activation of prodrugs affected by CYP induction/inhibition - February 26, 2021
Definition
Prodrugs are inactive precursors designed to be converted to an active form after administration. This is to overcome poor physio-chemical or pharmacokinetic properties of the active drug.
Prodrugs – methods of activation
Prodrugs are activated by a variety of mechanisms including...



NDMA, Nitrosamine Impurities in Medicines - February 26, 2020
Due to concerns about cancer risks from contamination with NDMA, ranitidine tablets and injection have been unavailable in New Zealand since September 2019, following a global recall by the manufacturers. This bulletin aims to provide information for health professionals about NDMA impurities in ...



Levomepromazine 25 mg and 100 mg tablets – important note regarding product change - February 26, 2020
Key points
The current NZ Sanofi levomepromazine (Nozinan®) 25 mg and 100 mg tablets will be replaced with Swiss Sanofi Nozinan® formulations temporarily from 1st March 2020. They are not bioequivalent.
Dose equivalency is 1 x NZ tablet ≈ 0.75 x Swiss tablet.
All prescriptions sho...



Vildagliptin for diabetes – funded in NZ - March 29, 2019
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 for heart failure - November 5, 2018
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...



Repackaging dabigatran into compliance packs - October 8, 2018
Compliance packs
With an ageing population there is increasing incidence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy. This leads to complex dosing regimens.
Compliance aids, such as the Medico Paks® or unit dose medication sachets, are widely used to manage complex medication regimes, and help remind...