- Prescribing Advice for GPs - https://www.prescriber.org.uk -

NICE Guidance - March 2011

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has published new guidance for the month of March 2011. This month there are two public health guidelines, one clinical guideline, and one technology appraisal that impact upon primary care.

The public health guidelines both relate to increasing HIV testing uptake in black Africans and men who have sex with men.

The clinical guideline discusses the diagnosis and treatment of active and latent tuberculosis in adults and children and strategies to prevent the spread of tuberculosis.

The technology appraisal is an update to a previous appraisal for the drug treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The review covers donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine. Key changes in the update are that donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine are now recommended in mild as well as moderate disease and memantine is now an option in moderate disease.

Action: Clinicians should be aware of these recommendations and implement any necessary changes to practice.