ABSTRACT
Serious safety issues relating to drugs are communicated to health-care professionals via Direct Health-Care Professional Communications (DHPCs). We explored which characteristics determined the impact of DHPCs issued in the Netherlands for ambulatory-care drugs (2001-2008). With multiple linear regression, we examined the impact on the relative change in new drug use post-DHPC of the following: time to DHPC, trend in use, degree of innovation, specialist drug, first/repeated DHPC, DHPC template, and type of safety issue. DHPCs have less impact on use of specialist drugs than nonspecialist drugs (P < 0.05). The DHPCs' impact increased after availability of a template emphasizing the main problem (P < 0.05), and for safety issues with a risk of death and/or disability (both P < 0.05) (adjusted R² = 0.392). Risk communication can be effective, specifically in case of well-structured information, and very serious safety issues. Effectiveness may improve by tailoring DHPCs and adding other communication channels, for example for drugs that are increasingly being used.
Subject(s)
Ambulatory Care/trends , Communication , Health Personnel/psychology , Medication Errors/trends , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/trends , Humans , Netherlands , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Albuterol/administration & dosage , Substance-Related Disorders , Adolescent , Aerosols , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
DELTA1-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta1-THC), a highly lipid soluble and active principle of cannabis, was injected each day (25 mg/kg) s.c. in mice from the estimated 13th day of pregnancy. Delta1-THC-treated mice showed no increase in the wet weight or DNA content of their mammary glands during the period of investigation from before parturition until the 12th day post-partum. A marked increase in mammary-gland lipoprotein lipase activity w,s found in control mice at parturition and this was suppressed by delta1-THC. Prolactin rose to a peak level in plasma earlier in lactation in the control mice than in the delta1-THC-treated mice. This delayed rise in plasma prolactin due to delta1-THC may account for the depression of mammary gland growth and development by the drug and for the delay in the appearance of high activities of lipoprotein lipase until later in lactation.
