Falls drug-related

Drugs related to PCP are known to alter the carotid sinus reflex. Mechanical stimulation of the carotid sinus in the neck normally results in a slowing of heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure. Carotid sinus stimulation, coupled with the effects of PCP on blood vessels, might result in a marked fall in the blood pressure that could lead, ultimately, to death. Individuals intoxicated with PCP may be at a higher risk to complications of carotid compression neck holds. Hence, additional cases would be expected to become medicolegal issues. 

A randomised, controlled trial. Drugs Aging 18(2) 143-149 Roughead EE, Gilbert AL, Primrose JG et al. (1998) Drug-related hospital admissions a review of Australian studies published 1988-1996. Med J Aust 168(8) 405-408 Tinetti ME (2003) Clinical practice. Preventing falls in elderly persons. N Engl J Med 348(1) 42-49... 

An event is defined as a diagnosis, sign or symptom, accident, operation, change of treatment or any other incident that the doctor had considered important enough to enter into the patient s notes. For example, a fall would be considered an event, but not necessarily an ADR. The GP is not required to decide whether events are drug related or not. 

Geriatric Considerations - Summary Chlorzoxazone is a centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant that at higher doses can cause CNS depression. It appears to have modest clinical benefits and is most often used for acute muscle discomfort as compared to chronic muscle pain. It is often taken in combination with acetaminophen. Transient CNS depressant effects place the older adult at risk for falls and related accidents when taking this drug. 

The need and demand for pharmaceutical care can be expected to intensify as sociefy realizes fhaf a significanf proportion of drug-related morbidity and mortality is preventable. In 1995, it was widely disseminated that drug-related morbidity and mortality cost the U.S. 76 billion annually, and more recent estimates place this figure close to 200 billion annually. Furthermore, 44,000 to 98,000 institutionalized patients fall victim to drug-relafed mortality." It is... 

Plasma bilirubin may be increased due to drug-related inhibition of uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (Zucker et al. 2001) or inhibitors of hepatic bilirubin transporters. By contrast, plasma bilirubin concentration may fall following administration of some mixed-function oxidase inducers, which may enhance the metabolism and excretion of bilirubin. 

The development of new drugs usually requires the synthesis of large numbers of structurally related compounds. If a set of agonists of this kind is tested on a particular tissue, the compounds are often found to fall into two categories. Some can elicit a maximal tissue response and are described as full agonists in that experimental situation. Others cannot elicit this maximal response, no matter how high their concentration, and are termed partial agonists. Examples include ... 

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