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Drug News Abstracts - April 2022


Follow-Up Analysis Shows that Adding Isatuximab to Treatment for Resistant Multiple Myeloma Provides Continued Survival

The addition of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab to pomalidomide-dexamethasone treatment resulted in a greater than 6-month difference in median overall survival compared to treatment without isatuximab in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. This finding was reported in a prespecified second interim analysis of a key secondary endpoint in the ICARIA-MM study; results of that study supported the March 2020 approval of isatuximab for multiple myeloma.

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Relying on Informal Sources of Information Increases Vaccine Hesitancy in Medicare Beneficiaries

Circulation of misleading information on the COVID-19 vaccines on social media is considered one of the important causes for vaccine hesitancy. A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society examined this hypothesis, and further sought to learn if reliance on multiple sources of information about COVID-19 was associated with less vaccine hesitancy among a sample of Medicare beneficiaries.

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WHO-Recommended Essential Medicines Not Always Available in Age-Appropriate Formulations for Young Children

The World Health Organization (WHO) compiles and disseminates the WHO Essential Medicines List for children (EMLc) to guide the selection of medicines for use in children ages 0 to 12. Essential medications are defined as those necessary to prevent, treat, or manage the most prevalent diseases in a population. The EMLc is an important tool; for most low- and middle-income countries, the list serves as a template for national drug formularies. But a study published in Archives of Diseases in Childhood documents that most essential enteral medications listed in both the 2011 and 2019 EMLc couldn’t be considered age-appropriate for children under age 6.

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Cardioselective Beta Blockers a Better Choice for Patients with COPD Who Experience Heart Attack

Beta blockers are known to reduce death and adverse cardiac events in patients after a myocardial infarction (MI). But clinicians hesitate to prescribe beta blockers in patients with respiratory disease who experience an MI, fearing that the beta blockers might precipitate bronchospasm and reduced pulmonary function in these patients. A retrospective Taiwanese study investigated use of beta blockers, and specifically of cardioselective beta blockers, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being treated in hospital after their first-ever MI.

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