Every week, we will provide a brief summary and a link to the published abstract of newly published papers selected from the worldwide literature as being of particular interest to the SelfCare community.
ADHERENCE TO LABEL AND DEVICE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVER-THE-
COUNTER PEDIATRIC LIQUID MEDICATIONS.
By: Budnitz DS, Lovegrove MC, Rose KO.
Pediatrics 2014; 133: e283-e290.
Summary: In the USA, the FDA and Consumer Healthcare Products Association released voluntary recommendations for dosing directions and devices on product packages. For this report, the impact of those guidelines was examined on OTC liquid pediatric analgesics/antipyretics and cough/cold/allergy products. Of the 68 products considered, 91% of the dosing directions and 62% of the device Information adhered to all top tier recommendations. A dosing device was included with all the products and none used volumetric units that did not appear in the directions.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF A TRIPTAN RX-TO-OTC SWITCH IN SIX EU COUNTRIES.
By: Millier A, Cohen J, Toumi M.
PLoS ONE 2013; 8(12): article e84088.
Summary: The authors indicated that triptans have been safely and effectively used for migraines for greater than 15 years. With that perspective, the impact of OTC availability was examined across 6 countries for third-party payers and society in general. For payers, given an estimated expenditure of 582 million Euros annually, the cost savings could reach 75 million.
SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE FOR LOCAL OUTBREAK DETECTION AND AWARENESS: EVALUATING OUTBREAK SIGNALS OF ACUTE GASTROENTERITIS IN TELEPHONE TRIAGE, WEB-BASED QUERIES AND OVER-THE-COUNTER PHARMACY SALES.
By: Andersson T, Bjelkmar P, Hulth A, Lindh J, Stenmark S, Widerstrom M.
Epidemiology and Infection 2014; 142: 303-313.
Summary: Three sources of potential information were assessed for their value in developing a national outbreak surveillance system. Telephone triage appeared to be the most promising source.