Understanding barriers to medication adherence in the hypertensive population by evaluating responses to a telephone survey.

Background: Although hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, adherence to hypertensive medications is low. Previous research identifying factors influencing adherence has focused primarily on broad, population-based approaches. Identifying specific barriers for an individual is more useful in designing meaningful targeted interventions.

Prescriber compliance with black box warnings in older adult patients.

Background: Patients prescribed medications with US Food and Drug Administration-issued black box warnings (BBWs) warrant additional vigilance by prescribers because these drugs can cause serious adverse drug events. Seniors are at greater risk for adverse drug events due to increased medication burden and greater health vulnerability.

Objective: To improve our understanding of the prescribing and patient-monitoring practices of physicians prescribing medications with a BBW to patients age >or=65 years in an ambulatory care setting.

Opioid drug utilization and cost outcomes associated with the use of buprenorphine-naloxone in patients with a history of prescription opioid use.

Background: Management of opioid dependence is associated with many challenges such as the misuse of prescribed treatment and lack of medication adherence that can affect the clinical outcome of the patient. Buprenorphine-naloxone was approved by the U.S.

Adjuvant ketamine analgesia for the management of cancer pain.

Objective: To review the clinical literature evaluating the utilization of intravenous ketamine for the management of cancer-related pain, to summarize the data that suggest ketamine is an appropriate adjuvant method of providing analgesia and to report a case of successful pain management using ketamine in a patient with recurrent testicular cancer at our institution.

Data Sources: Primary literature was identified through a MEDLINE search (1966-March 2002), and additional information was obtained through secondary and tertiary sources.

Data Synthesis: The available data suggest that supplementation of morphine with ketamine improves analgesia in patients with cancer, and also provides insight to the controversy regarding the efficacy and adverse effects of various ketamine doses.