"Medication on demand"

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Reflux esophagitis of Los Angeles grade A or B is more common than grades C and D disease among Taiwanese. This study compared the efficacy of esomeprazole 40 mg and omeprazole 20 mg for starting on-demand therapy for grade A and B reflux esophagitis. METHODS: 100 patients with grade A and B reflux esophagitis were randomized to receive either esomeprazole 40 mg once daily (n = 50) or omeprazole 20 mg once daily (n = 50) for the first 4 weeks...

BACKGROUND: There are few data on how patients on maintenance treatment of reflux oesophagitis take their medication. This study was designed to investigate the dosing patterns of patients on on-demand treatment and to compare lansoprazole with omeprazole in this regard. METHODS: Patients with reflux oesophagitis, initially treated until absence of symptoms, took capsules of either lansoprazole (30 mg) or omeprazole (20 mg) for 6 months; they were instructed to take the medication only when reflux symptoms occurred...

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, its prevalence increasing with age: as much as 80% of the population over 75 years show radiologic signs of the condition. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, and functional impairment; however, not all patients are symptomatic. Management starts with nonpharmacologic interventions, followed by pharmacologic means, and ultimately by surgical intervention. The management is multidisciplinary and is tailored to the needs of the individual patient. It is, therefore, a good model of collaborative care: multidisciplinary management of a chronic condition for which the patients themselves coordinate the use of the management options, with information and guidance from health care professionals and written materials, as needed...

Acid-related disorders are caused by an imbalance between acid secretion by the gastric parietal cells and the defensive mechanisms of the gastrointestinal tract to protect against the effects of acid. Therapy for acid-related disorders focuses on the control of acidity. Data collected throughout the last decade have demonstrated that PPIs are the most effective therapy for acid-related disorders: PPIs have proven superior to H2RAs and antacids in numerous studies. Five PPIs are currently available in the United States...

INTRODUCTION: Medication errors contribute to 8% of all hospital admissions. Minimalization of the number of information transferrals and improvement in communication may increase the quality of drug treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The effect of introducing joint charts for prescription and administration on the quality of drug handling in a hospital setting is reported. RESULTS: When separate charts were used the prescriptions in the case records and the nurses' charts for administration did not tally for any of 20 patients...

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease often associated with bronchial asthma. Intranasal corticosteroids and oral antihistamines are the first-choice drugs. Patient training is relevant to asthma management, but little is known about its impact on rhinitis. We evaluated the role of patient training in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and its effects on nasal and bronchial symptoms. METHODS: One hundred and one patients (M/F = 62/39, age range 12-62 years) with pollen-induced rhinitis (32 with concomitant mild asthma) were enrolled...

AIM: To observe the natural course of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in patients without oesophagitis following effective symptom relief, and to determine the place of acid pump inhibitor therapy in the long-term management of these patients. METHODS: We investigated the efficacy of on-demand therapy with omeprazole 20 mg or 10 mg, or placebo in a double-blind, randomized multicentre trial. It involved 424 patients with troublesome heartburn without endoscopic evidence of oesophagitis in whom heartburn had been resolved with short-term treatment...

A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial was conducted to compare the use of regularly dosed po morphine and on-demand in morphine in 47 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Patients were randomized to receive either 20 mg (initial dose) of regularly dosed morphine (every four hours po) plus breakthrough pain medication on-demand consisting of both 10 mg morphine po and placebo im, or an equivalent regularly dosed oral placebo (every four hours) with breakthrough pain medication consisting of oral placebo and 5-10 mg morphine im...

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