Capillary blood sampling for the determination of clozapine concentrations: analytical validation and patient experience.

Patients may be reluctant to start clozapine (CLZ) because of the frequent blood sampling needed for white blood cell monitoring, but also therapeutic drug monitoring of CLZ. Finger prick, instead of venepuncture, might lower the threshold to CLZ use. The aim of this study was to determine whether CLZ concentrations are the same in capillary and venous blood samples.

Deprescribing in Newly Admitted Psychogeriatric Nursing Facility Patients.

Objective: To determine whether advised changes as a result of structured medication reviews in psychogeriatric patients were implemented and if the implemented changes were maintained.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Three nursing facilities in The Netherlands.

Comparison of a basic and an advanced pharmacotherapy-related clinical decision support system in a hospital care setting in the Netherlands.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical relevance of medication alerts in a basic and in an advanced clinical decision support system (CDSS).

Design: A prospective observational study.

Materials And Methods: We collected 4023 medication orders in a hospital for independent evaluation in two pharmacotherapy-related decision support systems.

Drug treatment-related factors of inadequate seizure control.

To optimize seizure control it is important to identify modifiable factors. We conducted a case-control study to explore to what extent drug treatment-related factors are associated with seizures. Eighty-six patients with epilepsy were evaluated: 45 cases (recently experienced a seizure) and 41 controls (seizure-free for at least 2 months).

Influence of chemical structure on hypersensitivity reactions induced by antiepileptic drugs: the role of the aromatic ring.

Objective: Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can cause various 'idiosyncratic' hypersensitivity reactions, i.e. the mechanism by which AEDs induce hypersensitivity is unknown.

Changes in medication associated with epilepsy-related hospitalisation: a case-crossover study.

Aim: To assess the association between changes in medication and epilepsy-related hospitalisation.

Methods: Data were obtained from the PHARMO Record Linkage System (Jan 1998 to Dec 2002). We conducted a case-crossover study among patients with a first epilepsy-related hospital admission who had continuously used at least one antiepileptic drug (AED) during a 28-week period before admission.