In another study conducted by Dr. Donahue, supratherapeu-tic doses of indacaterol (QAB 149, Novartis) among patients with mild-to-moderate COPD were associated with changes of only minimal concern. Indacaterol is entering into large-scale, 2,000-patient pivotal phase 3 trials in 300 sites, 200 of them in the U.S.
“Indacaterol is an interesting compound,” he stated. “It’s a new [...]

American Thoracic Society: May 18-23, 2007, San Francisco, California
Bronchodilators for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Presenter: Bartolome R. Celli, MD, Professor of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts
The importance of treating hyperinflation emerged as a strong theme in several presentations on pharmacotherapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the meeting. As a speaker at a symposium, Dr. [...]

Peripheral edema: Peripheral edema is a known effect of the class of endothelin receptor antagonists, and it is a clinical consequence of PAH and worsening PAH. In the placebo-controlled studies, the incidence of peripheral edema increased in patients receiving ambrisentan 5 or 10 mg, compared to those receiving placebo. Most edema was mild to moderate [...]

Indications: Ambrisentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (World Health Organization Group 1) in patients with WHO class II or III symptoms to improve exercise capacity and delay clinical worsening. PAH is a rare, life-threatening condition characterized by continuous high blood pressure within the arteries of the [...]

Indication: Armodafinil is designed to improve wakefulness in patients with excessive sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, narcolepsy, and shift work sleep disorder.
In obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, armodafinil is indicated as an adjunct to standard therapy for the underlying obstruction. If continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment of choice, a maximal effort [...]

Rivastigmine Transdermal System (Exelon Patch)
Manufacturer: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp, East Hanover, NJ
Indication: The rivastigmine transdermal system is indicated for the treatment of mild-to-moderate dementia of the Alzheimer’s type and for mild-to-moderate dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The dementia of PD is characterized by impairments in executive function, memory retrieval, and attention.
Drug Class: Rivastigmine is a [...]

Multiple steps are required to program a PCA pump, but the pump’s design is often far from intuitive. Most programming errors have resulted because concentration settings for opiates such as morphine default to 0.1 mg/mL or 1 mg/ mL, but a higher concentration is available and is selected and mistakenly used. Other common design flaws [...]