Successful experience utilizing dexrazoxane treatment for an anthracycline extravasation.

Objective: To describe a successful case of dexrazoxane treatment after an extravasation of doxorubicin and share a creative solution for formulary cost management.

Case Summary: A 42-year-old female diagnosed with breast cancer was receiving doxorubicin as adjuvant treatment. The patient recently underwent a right mastectomy for a 3-centimeter grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma.

Usefulness of herbal and dietary supplement references.

Objective: To describe the usefulness of some of the most common tertiary references that healthcare professionals employ to answer requests about herbal and dietary supplements.

Methods: All requests for information on herbal and dietary supplements received by the drug information service between April and September 2000 were evaluated. Each question was independently reviewed by 4 clinicians using a 4-point scale; 14 references were searched for appropriate answers.

Relationship between asthma drug therapy patterns and healthcare utilization.

Background And Objective: Asthma drug therapy problems contribute significantly to preventable hospitalizations and increased healthcare use in asthmatics. Since asthma patients often require >1 medication for control of symptoms, concurrent asthma drug therapies may be important in predicting excessive healthcare utilization. The purpose of this study was to link inappropriate asthma drug therapy patterns and selected patient demographics to healthcare utilization.