The quality of European dermatological guidelines: critical appraisal of the quality of EDF guidelines using the AGREE II instrument.

Clinical practice guidelines are systematically developed tools to assist clinicians and health policy makers in decision making for clearly defined clinical situations. In the light of the demand for evidence-based medicine and quality in health care and the increasing methodological requirements concerning guidelines development, it is important to evaluate existing practice guidelines to systematically identify strengths and weaknesses. Currently, the most accepted tool for the methodological evaluation of guidelines is the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument.

Pharmacokinetics of ergotamine in healthy volunteers following oral and rectal dosing.

Twenty-four healthy volunteers participated in a study on the disposition of ergotamine following oral and rectal administration. Plasma samples were collected surrounding each dose of medication and a new mass spectrometry method was used for quantitation of the samples. A mean peak plasma concentration of 454 pg/ml was measured an average of 50 min following a 2 mg rectal dose.

Measurement of ergotamine in human plasma by triple sector quadrupole mass spectrometry with negative ion chemical ionization.

By use of negative ion chemical ionization and collision-activated decomposition in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer a method has been developed for the quantification of ergotamine in human plasma at levels down to 2 pg ml-1.