Evaluation of a pharmacist-managed amiodarone monitoring program.

Background: Because of the potential for serious adverse effects, patients treated with amiodarone must be carefully screened and routinely monitored for potential liver, thyroid, and pulmonary toxicity. However, laboratory and pulmonary monitoring rates have been found to be substantially lower than recommended in guidelines, including those of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE, 2007).

Objective: To (a) assess rates of laboratory monitoring of liver, thyroid, and pulmonary function and adverse events in a pharmacist-managed amiodarone monitoring program compared with usual care in an integrated health care system and (b) estimate return on investment (ROI) from this intervention.

Anabolic and antiresorptive drugs improve trabecular microarchitecture and reduce fracture risk following radiation therapy.

Many patients with symptomatic bone metastases receive radiation therapy, even though radiation is known to have potential adverse effects on bone. We hypothesized that the concurrent use of a bisphosphonate drug (zoledronic acid, ZA) or a combination of ZA plus an anabolic agent (parathyroid hormone, PTH) would lead to improvements in the microarchitecture and mechanical properties of irradiated bone. Human breast cancer cells were injected into the distal femur of 56 female nude mice, which were then divided into four groups: no treatment (0 Gy), radiation administered 4 weeks postinjection (20 Gy), radiation plus ZA (12.