The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published Drug Safety Update for May 2010 (PDF).
This issue contains drug safety advice in the following areas:
- Possibility of an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension in the newborn of mothers receiving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) in pregnancy
- Increased risk of bone fractures in patients receiving SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
- An interaction between carbapenem antibiotics and valproic acid that results in decreased blood levels of valproic acid
- Reminder to prescribe oral tacrolimus by brand name to avoid medication errors as a result of brand swapping since the brand are not interchangeable
- Warning about the increased risk of myopathy in patients receiving the highest licensed dose of simvastatin (80mg)
Action: Clinicians will find this publication to be a useful review of current issues in drug safety.