Evaluation of a non-Food and Drug Administration-approved use of cimetidine: treatment of pruritus resulting from epidural morphine analgesia.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a frequently used treatment at our hospital, intravenous cimetidine hydrochloride for pruritus resulting from epidural morphine sulfate analgesia in cesarean-section patients. Fifty-two patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or cimetidine 300 mg i.v.

Comparison of consumer-oriented books on medications.

Consumers increasingly want to be informed about the processes involved in their own health care. Health professionals may be called upon to recommend appropriate consumer-oriented sources of information. To assist the health professional in making a rational recommendation, 15 currently available consumer-oriented books on prescription medications were compared with respect to readability, number of drugs covered, completeness of drug monograph information, price, and other factors.