[The long and winding road of the clinical pharmacy in Chile].

Clinical pharmacy is a health discipline in which pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes rational medication use and promotes health, wellness and disease prevention. The beginnings of clinical pharmacy in Chile were inspired by the origin in the School of Pharmacy of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in the mid-1960s. However, the historical development in our country, both in teaching and in the professional field, was accompanied by difficulties and success, which became a long and winding road.

[Monitoring medication errors in an internal medicine service].

Background: Patients admitted to internal medicine services receive multiple drugs and thus are at risk of medication errors.

Aim: To determine the frequency of medication errors (ME) among patients admitted to an internal medicine service of a high complexity hospital.

Material And Methods: A prospective observational study conducted in 225 patients admitted to an internal medicine service.

Constituents of Hondurian propolis with inhibitory effects on Saccharomyces cerevisiae multidrug resistance protein Pdr5p.

Chemical investigation of a propolis sample collected in Honduras has led to the isolation of the new (E,Z)-cinnamyl cinnamate (2) together with 14 known compounds: 6 cinnamic ester derivatives, 2 flavanones, 1 chalcone, 2 triterpenes, and 3 aromatic acids. Structural determination was accomplished by spectroscopic analysis, particularly two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) techniques. Futhermore, we checked the ability of the propolis extract and the most representative compounds of each class (1, 5, 8, and 10) to inhibit the activity of Pdr5p, a protein responsible for a multidrug resistance phenotype in yeast.

Phenolic derivatives from the leaves of Martinella obovata (Bignoniaceae).

A new phenolic derivative, 4-methoxyphenol 1-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 --> 6)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), has been identified together with uncommon 3,4-dimethoxyphenol 1-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 --> 6)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2) and 3-hydroxy, 4-methoxyphenol 1-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 --> 6)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3) from the leaves of Martinella obovata (Kunth) Bureau & K. Schum., an Honduran species used in folk medicine for the treatment of eyes diseases.

Magnoflorine and phenolic derivatives from the leaves of Croton xalapensis L. (Euphorbiaceae).

The alkaloid magnoflorine 1, has been isolated for the first time from Croton xalapensis (Euphorbiaceae), in addition two phenylpropenols derivates, 3,4-dimethoxy-(E)-cinnamyl alcohol 2 and 3,4-dimethoxy-5-hydroxy-(E)-cinnamyl alcohol 3, 3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid 4, gallic acid 5, methyl gallate 6 and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid 7 have been also found; these compounds were identified by spectroscopic analysis particularly, 2D NMR and ESI-MS/MS techniques. The high concentration of magnoflorine, calculated with quantitative HPLC, of the aqueous extract, probably contributes to the remarkable medicinal properties of this plant. In addition this is the first phytochemical study on Croton xalapensis to be reported.

[Consumption of antidepressants in Chile from 1992 to 2004].

Background: Data from the Ministry of Health show that in Chile in 2004, 17% of the population had some form of depression, and mood disorders are the tenth cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALY) loss.

Aim: To determine consumption of antidepressants (ADs) in Chile from 1992 to 2004.

Material And Methods: National sales data were obtained from the company IMS Health Chile and converted into defined daily doses (DDDs) per 1,000 inhabitants per day.

The economic impact of introducing serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors into the Brazilian national drug formulary: cost-effectiveness and budget-impact analyses.

Objective: To determine the cost effectiveness, from the Brazilian Ministry of Health viewpoint, of three antidepressant classes for major depressive disorder (MDD), and the budget impact of introducing serotonin-noradrenaline (norepinephrine) reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) into the current Brazilian national drug formulary, assuming a 6-month treatment duration.

Methods: An existing decision-tree model was adapted to Brazil, based on local guidelines. Clinical data were obtained from published meta-analyses.

Remission, dropouts, and adverse drug reaction rates in major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of head-to-head trials.

Objective: To summarize remission rates and dropouts due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) or lack of efficacy (LoE) of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in treating major depressive disorder.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, IPA, and the Cochrane International Library from 1980-2005. Meta-analysis summarized outcomes from head-to-head randomized clinical trials comparing >or= 2 drugs from three antidepressants classes (SNRIs, and/or SSRIs, and/or TCAs) followed by >or= 6 weeks of treatment.