Testosterone Prescribing Often Fails to Follow Clinical Guidelines, Especially in U.S.

Pharmacists fill a lot of “Low T” prescriptions, but a new study suggests that many of them may be unnecessary. In fact, in violation of guidelines, U.S. patients on testosterone replacement therapy often don’t receive regular testing. Here are the details.

Dosing Schedule Matters in Using Xylitol to Help Prevent Recurring Acute Otitis Media

It appeared to be an elegant solution to help prevent acute otitis media in children with recurring ear problems: Just have them chew 1.7 g of xylitol gum—or ingest 2 g of syrup for children too young to chew gum—five times a day. The inconvenient dosing schedule kept the method from being widely adopted, however, so Boston researchers set out to find if less frequent dosing works as well. Here are the results.

Cancer Patients, Elderly Are Collateral Damage in Efforts to End Abuse of Narcotic Painkillers

Government efforts to control use and abuse of narcotic painkillers is having unintended consequences, according to a survey of more than 1,000 community pharmacists. Providing a steady supply of the drugs to those who really need them, such as cancer patients and the elderly, is nearly impossible because of supply chain disruptions. How often that occurs may be surprising.

EDs Too Often Prescribe Antibiotics to Adults Presenting With Acute Respiratory Infections

While good progress has been made in reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions at the ED for children and other young people, the same is not true for adults, according to a new study. In fact, from 2001 to 2010, 61% of the more than 126 million adult visits to the ED with acute respiratory infections resulted in a script for an antibacterial, even though the illnesses were likely to be viral. What other disturbing trend did the researchers uncover?