Effect of St John's wort dose and preparations on the pharmacokinetics of digoxin.

Background And Objective: St John's wort preparations vary in composition, main constituents, formulation, and daily dose administered. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible pharmacokinetic interaction of marketed St John's wort formulations and doses with digoxin.

Methods: A randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was performed in 96 healthy volunteers in 3 study parts.

Admissions caused by adverse drug events to internal medicine and emergency departments in hospitals: a longitudinal population-based study.

Objective: To estimate incidence rates of drug-related hospitalizations (DRHs) in a longitudinal population-based study with prospective event assessment.

Design: Cohort study and time-trend analysis.

Setting: All departments of internal medicine and emergency departments in the urban regions of Jena and Rostock, Germany, serving about 520,000 residents.

Results of a systematic adverse drug reaction (ADR)-screening concerning bradycardia caused by drug interactions in departments of internal medicine in Rostock.

Objectives: The concomitant intake of drugs, which is frequently needed, may be associated with drug interactions. We report results on the screening of ADRs responsible for hospital admissions involving bradycardia. This investigation was part of a BfArM pilot project with the objective of monitoring and reporting ADRs.

Results of systematic screening for serious gastrointestinal bleeding associated with NSAIDs in Rostock hospitals.

Objectives: Gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers may lead to life-threatening complications. One of the causes is use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Methods: All hospital admissions in 1998 to the Departments of Internal Medicine, including the Intensive Care Unit and the Department of Surgery, in 2 hospitals in Rostock were prospectively screened for gastrointestinal bleeding.

First results from an intensified monitoring system to estimate drug related hospital admissions.

Aims: An intensified monitoring system was set up to identify drug related hospital admissions and estimate population-based incidences for commonly prescribed medications.

Methods: Pharmacovigilance-centres systematically screened nonelective admissions to emergency rooms or departments of internal medicine for drug related hospitalizations (DRH). Clinical pharmacologists used standardized causality assessment.