Patient Characteristics

J> < 0.01) and also more cost-effective, mainly because of the higher number of hospital admissions in the TCA group. This study had limitations in that patients prescribed TCAs were not randomly selected, a quarter of the patients in the TCA group failed to receive an effective dose, and objective measurements of outcome were not employed. Multivariate analysis suggested that despite the methodological limitations of the study, the differences in cost were due to the treatment received, and not to differences in patient characteristics. This study provides the first, albeit tentative, evidence of superior cost-effectiveness for SSRIs over TCAs in the UK. 

Patient Characteristics Drug Duration of Therapy (Months) Comments... 

Patient Characteristics Likely Pathogens Recommended Antibiotics3,4... 

Antiemetics can be administered either intravenously or orally in this situation, depending on patient characteristics such as ability to take oral medications, dosage form availability, and cost considerations.5,10 The intravenous and oral routes are equally effective. When used at equipotent doses, the 5-HT3 antagonists have similar efficacy in preventing acute CINV, despite pharmacokinetic and receptor binding affinity differences.5,10,36... 

Recommend appropriate pharmacologic therapy to abort headache based on type, patient characteristics, current medication profile, and comorbid conditions. 

Patient characteristics (e.g., age, comorbidities, concurrent drug therapies, and ability to adhere to the prescribed regimen) can also influence drug therapy selection. 

The most commonly used corticosteroids are methylpred-nisolone (IV and oral) and prednisone (oral), although prednisolone and dexamethasone also have been shown to be effective for organ transplantation. Corticosteroid doses vary by center-specific protocols, organ type, and patient characteristics. A typical taper would include an IV 100 to 500 mg bolus of methylprednisolone at the time of transplant and then a taper over 5 to 7 days to a maintenance dose of prednisone 20 mg/day or complete cessation.2,7 It is important for practitioners to know that approximately 4 mg methylprednisolone is equivalent to 5 mg prednisone and 0.75 mg dexamethasone.11 At most transplant centers, therapeutic drug monitoring of corticosteroids is not employed. Corticosteroids are associated with a variety of acute and chronic toxicides. The most common adverse events have been summarized in Table 52-5. 

In addition to relying on safety and efficacy data, the initial DMARD choice depends on disease severity, patient characteristics (i.e., comorbidities, likelihood of adherence), cost, and clinician experience with the medication.1,7 Methotrexate alone or in combination therapy is the initial treatment of choice for patients with aggressive disease. Patients with early, mild disease may receive monotherapy with sulfasalazine or hydroxychloroquine. Agents such as azathioprine, D-penicillamine, and gold salts are used rarely today because of concerns about toxicity and reduced efficacy.1,15... 

Pain episodes usually can be managed at home. Hospitalized patients usually require parenteral analgesics. Analgesic options include opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and acetaminophen. The patient characteristics and severity of the crisis should determine the choice of agent and regimen. 

The manifestations of and diagnostic criteria for erysipelas and cellulitis are presented in Table 70-2. Once diagnosed, cellulitis is grouped into uncomplicated or complicated presentations depending on patient characteristics and severity of... 

Other data sets may be found within the IVRS system that prove useful to the statistical programmer as well. Often the IVRS collects several baseline patient characteristics that are used in the stratification of the randomization scheme and subsequent assignment of study therapy. Finally, the preceding examples show in detail what the treatment variable is, in the treatment column. It is more often the case that the treatment variable is coded, such as A or B or C. It is of paramount importance that you know with absolute certainty how the treatment code can be properly interpreted. 

Sloane, R. Bruce, Fred R. Staples, Allan H. Cristol, Neil J. Yorkston and Katherine Whipple, Patient Characteristics and Outcome in... 

If specific advice is needed and information is not available from the manufacturer information on the number of missed doses and proposed dosing schedule is needed. This information must be combined with the pharmacological properties (dynamics, kinetics, and toxicity), disease- and patient characteristics. 

There are some external evidences from systematic research in the field. As for other Evidence based medicines principles, these evidences have to be used together with the knowledge of the individual patient characteristics. As described previously the physicians have difficulties in appraising the compliance behaviour of their patients. Therefore it is important to identify possible non-compliance based also on knowledge, attitudes and motivational aspects as described above. 

Population PK/PD models, which in addition to the characterization of PK and PD, involve relationships between covariates (for instance, patient characteristics such as age, body weight) and PK/PD parameters, allow us to assess and to quantify potential sources of variability in exposure and response in specific target population, even under erratic and limited sampling conditions. Often implications of significant covariate effects can be evaluated by computer simulations using the population PK/PD model. 

Ginkgo has been examined in a number of clinical populations, including Alzheimer s disease, vascular dementia, and age-associated cognitive decline. Most studies employed the extracts EGb 761 or LI 1370. Many have methodological flaws including limited sample size or insufficient description of randomization, patient characteristics, measurement techniques, or result presentation, but there are a number of well-controlled studies available for drawing preliminary conclusions (Field and Vadnal 1998). 

Patient characteristics (e.g., demographics, gender, age, smoking status) should be described. This should also include the criteria for inclusion in the study. Appropriate internal review board approval and informed consent must have been obtained and docnmented. 

By contrast, in the population approach, the raw data set that is analysed consists of concentration-time points (and other necessary data such as demographic information) taken from a large number (up to hundreds to thousands) of patients in Phase 11 and/or Phase 111 trials. The number of plasma samples per subject may be sparse but it is possible to estimate the individual pharmacokinetic characteristics of each subject and hence a measure of the mean parameters and their variability can be assessed. Relationships can be sought between patient characteristics (demographics, chnical status) and pharmacokinetic values is found, its consequence may be examined by looking for altered efficacy or safety which may not be possible in a traditional volunteer study. This might lead to demonstration of a therapeutic concentration range. 

Epierenone can be restarted at a dose of 25 mg every other day when serum potassium levels have fallen below 5.5 mEq/L. Measure serum potassium before initiating epierenone therapy, within the first week, and at 1 month after the start of treatment or dose adjustment. Periodically assess serum potassium thereafter. Factors such as patient characteristics and serum potassium levels may indicate that additional monitoring is appropriate. 

Fig. 5.3 Results of TACTICS TIMI 18. Primary end point of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and rehospitalization for acute coronary syndrome at 6 months based on baseline patient characteristics ( 2001 Massachusetts Medical Society)...

Weinbroum AA, Szold O, Ogorek D, Flaishon R. The midazolam-induced paradox phenomenon is reversible by flumazenil. Epidemiology, patient characteristics and review of the literature. Eur I Anaesthesiol 2001,18 789-797. 

Nearly 60 years of clinical experience with ECT have provided us with good information on the type of patients who respond to this treatment. However, some of the older conceptions of which patients are likely to respond to ECT may need revision as patterns of referral have changed. Although we are beginning to learn more about the patient characteristics associated with greater vulnerability to complications during the treatment course, we know little about the clinical features that predict relapse following ECT. 

Sconce EA, Khan TI, Wynne HA et al. The impact of CYP2C9 and VKORCl genetic polymorphism and patient characteristics upon warfarin dose requirements proposal for a new dosing regimen. Blood 2005 106 2329-2233. 

In the meantime, others have concluded that the risk of endometrial cancer is present, but is less with combined therapy than with unopposed estrogen. However, the picture is not simple the contradictions could be explained by the fact that risks appear to vary both by usage patterns and by patient characteristics, such as body weight and a history of diabetes (31). 

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