Rx Note

Introduction Medications can cause ocular adverse effects. Most disappear once the drug is discontinued (such as blurry vision from an anticholinergic). In other cases, the damage can be permanent (such as vision loss with a PDE-5 inhibitor). Common Drugs Known to Cause Vision Changes or Damage Eye inflammation Bisphosphonates (e.g. alendronate) - conjunctivitis, episcleritis, scleritis, keratitis or uveitis Retinal changes/retinopathy Chloroquine Hydroxychloroquine Optic neuropathy Amiodarone (plus corneal deposits) Ethambutol Linezolid Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS); causes difficulty in cataract surgery Alpha-blockers (e.g. tamsulosin) Colour discrimination Digoxin (with toxicity) - yellow/green vision PDE-5 inhibitors (e.g. sildenafil) - greenish tinge around objects Voriconazole - Colour vision changes Vision loss/abnormal vision Clomiphene - blurred vision, reduced visual acuity, phosphenes (flash in the visual field), scintillating scotomas (spots in the visual...

Introduction Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder that alters an individual's perception, thought, affect and behaviour. Onset is usually between adolescence and early adulthood. Most patients fluctuate between acute episodes and remission. Residual symptoms may present between episodes. Risk Factors Family history of schizophrenia. Substance-induced psychoses associated with cannabis, hallucinogens and amphetamines. Increasing paternal age. Most urban environment. Refugee and migrant status. History of obstetric complications, e.g. pre-eclampsia and extreme prematurity. Prenatal exposure to infections, e.g. Herpes Simplex (HSV-2) and toxoplasma gondii. History of childhood central nervous system infection. Symptoms The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) identifies 5 symptoms for diagnosis. At least 2 of the following symptoms must be present for at least 1 month , and Delusions Hallucinations Disorganized speech (e.g. frequent derailment or in...

Introduction Pharmacovigilance is defined as "science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other medicine-related problem". When marketing approval for a medication occurs, safety data from the clinical trial and nonclinical studies are abridged in the labelling; however, adverse drug events may not have been fully detected by this time. The clinical trial process involves studying these products in a relatively small number of selected individuals for a short period of time. Certain side effects may only emerge once these products have been used by a heterogenous population, including people with other concurrent diseases, and over a long period of time. Consequently, data from post marketing studies and the spontaneous reports are reviewed periodically, and a formal evaluation occurs when new information suggests important safety issues. Spontaneous Reporting Spontaneous reporting systems collect dat...