Pharmacology News

Healio Primary Care has compiled a list of the most popular stories on women’s health in 2020, leading with a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine that found most Pap tests and pelvic exams in women aged 15 to 20 years may have been unnecessary.

The FDA recently approved a new drug application for Gemtesa, a novel treatment for overactive bladder in adults, its manufacturer announced in a press release.

Tocilizumab may lower the odds of needing mechanical ventilation among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia, but not the risk for death, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A physician practicing in a region hit hard by the opioid crisis helped develop a program that ascertains which patients in chronic pain who take opioids should undergo urine drug testing and how physicians can interpret these test results.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s COVID-19 Task Force released guidance on allergic reaction risk from the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Drug maker Gilead Sciences has announced it will no longer pursue FDA approval for its janus kinase inhibitor filgotinib in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, according to a company press release.

Starting Jan. 1, 2021, patients with inflammatory conditions who are part of the Express Scripts formulary will be forced to switch from the IL-17 inhibitor secukinumab to ixekizumab — whether they or their doctor condone this change or not.

Playing recordings of soft music or soothing words through earphones when patients are under general anesthesia could help them reduce the need for opioids after surgery, according to a study published in BMJ.

CMS recently announced that many of the expanded telehealth services it is covering due to COVID-19 will be permanently covered after the pandemic.

Editor’s note: One of the studies cited in this story, conducted in Egypt, has since been retracted. The FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing COVID-19. Moreover, the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends against ivermectin for the treatment of outpatients with COVID-19, unless in the context of a clinical trial.