Introduction to Medicines InformationUseful resources and basic enquiries

October 2017

eMCAccess via http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/

Type the generic name, brand name or manufacturer into the search box. Select the relevant term from the drop-down menu.

Click the hyperlink of the relevant document.

Have a go:

1. What is the half-life of atenolol?

2. Is Colpermin® safe to use in patients with an allergy to soya?

3. What is the manufacturer’s recommended dose of IV Tazocin® for an adult with a CrCL of 15mL/min?

4. Can Cordarone X® Intravenous be administered in sodium chloride 0.9%?

5. What does a Cozaar® 25mg tablet look like?

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BNF / BNF for ChildrenAccess via www.medicinescomplete.com

Password and username not required for BNF and BNFc if logging in from an NHS Wales PC.Can log in via a personal Athens account or own subscription from a non-NHS Wales computer.

Click on the icon for BNF or BNFc.

Either search using the search box at the top of the page or by using the contents page.

Have a go:

1. What is the interaction between azathioprine and allopurinol? How should it be managed?

2. Can ramipril be used in a mother breast-feeding a neonate?

3. When should levels be taken for a patient on IV aminophylline? What is the usual therapeutic range?

4. What starting dose of candesartan should be used for hypertension in a patient with eGFR of 29mL/min/1.73m2?

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Other Medicines Complete publications

Comprises Stockley’s Drug Interactions, Stockley’s Herbal Medicines Interactions, Stockley’s Interactions Alert, AHFS Herbal Medicines, Dietary Supplements, and Handbook of Drug Administration via Enteral Feeding Tubes. Similar layout as BNF. Also access via http://www.medicinescomplete.com

Sign in dependent on local subscription.

Use the search box at the top of the page. Choose the desired publication from the drop down menu, or search across all publications.

Stockley’s Drug Interactions

To search for interactions type the drug names into the search box and click “search”.

Search Terms• Single term i.e. warfarin finds any interactions with warfarin• Several terms separated by spaces e.g.

o alcohol warfarin finds interactions between alcohol and warfarino alcohol warfarin antihistamines finds interactions between all pairs of alcohol, warfarin and

antihistamines• NB only write drug names in the search box separated by spaces - do NOT use any other terms

(such as +, AND, OR) as this may result in no interactions being found

US, UK and International proprietary names, herbal medicines and selected foods and beverages are automatically mapped to the thesaurus.

Select the interaction to see the full document. Use the box on the right hand side to widen or narrow the search. To change publications select “Home” to return to the Medicines Complete home page.

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AHFS

Search terms• Single term e.g. aspirin finds documents containing the word aspirin• Phrase in inverted commas e.g. “heart failure” • Several terms separated by spaces

– e.g. aspirin hypertension finds documents containing both of the words

UK drug names will be automatically mapped to US drug names e.g. paracetamol to acetaminophen. However, be aware of the American spellings for non-drug words e.g.

• Oesophageal = 21 results• Esophageal = 137 results

The other books on Medicines Complete are searched in a similar way.

Choose which resource/book is the most likely to answer your question and look up the information requested below (tip: if unsure which book to search try putting your term in the search box on the home page to search all publications)

Have a go:

1. Is there an interaction between aminophylline and olanzapine?

2. Can clarithromycin cause an abnormal taste?

3. Is there any evidence that levothyroxine is a useful agent to induce weight loss?

4. Is it safe for a patient on warfarin to take grape seed extract?

5. Can Zocor® 10mg tablets be administered down an NG tube?

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Micromedex

Comprises of drug monographs (DrugDex), Martindale, Handbook of Injectable Drugs (Trissel), an alternative medicines database (AltMedex) plus other links. MI password also has access to reproductive risk data (Reprorisk).

Access via an NHS PC on http://howis.wales.nhs.uk/ or via http://www.wales.nhs.uk/ from any computer. Some Health Boards also have a link on their intranet pages – check with your local centre for details.

Select “Start Micromedex (Base Level)” Log in using your personal Athens password.

Next select MICROMEDEX from “your applications” on the right hand side.

This will open up the homepage. From here, enter one or more search terms in the search box.

When looking up a drug monograph it is best to open the ‘in-depth answers’ tab.

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You can then navigate around the monograph using the section headings on the left hand side.

Relevant Martindale monographs can be accessed by clicking “Martindale” on the Related Results menu on the right hand side.

To access the Drug Interactions Checker or IV Compatibility, use the links on the top grey menu.

Have a go:

1. What is the dose of zoledronic acid for Paget’s Disease?

2. How should the interaction between warfarin and broccoli be managed?

3. What is POLOCARD?

4. What is green lipped mussel used for?

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SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Service

The first stop for professional medicines advice. The SPS website comprises information from Medicines Use and Safety, Procurement, Quality Assurance, Technical Services and UKMi. It provides access to the fridge database, the UK Drugs in Lactation Advisory Service, the UKMi Q&As, the Medicines in Compliance Aids database, new medicines horizon scanning, as well as information on shortages, discontinuations and patent expiries. Access via http://www.sps.nhs.uk.

Medicines Q&As

Medicines Q&As are produced by UKMi pharmacists in response to a demand to make available high quality, evidence-based, and quality controlled answers to common or unusual enquiries made to medicines information services. They usually answer an enquiry fully to save time and duplication.

Drugs in Lactation – UKDILAS

Lactation safety information written by the UKMi specialist centre on specific drugs or therapeutic group summaries.

Fridge stability

Refrigerated storage information collated from unpublished manufacturers’ stability data for a range of medicines and vaccines. Note that the information provided is out of the product license. Data only applies to the brand specified.

Information from any of these databases can be accessed by simply searching for the name of the medicine and then selecting the correct article:

Enter the name of the medicines you are looking for in the search box at the top of the page.

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Click on the specific medicine that is retrieved on the list that is displayed

Scroll down the page to the advice on Medicines Compliance Aid stability, or Lactation Safety Information, or Refrigerated Storage for products containing that medicine. Relevant UKMi Q&As can be found in the Articles section.

Have a go:

1. Can you use trimethoprim in breastfeeding mum? General query – no specific patient in mind.

2. Aranesp® has been left out of the fridge for 2 days at 25°C in its original packaging. What expiry date should be given?

3. Is there any guidance on which medicines can be used in the treatment of hayfever in pregnancy?

4. Is there any guidance on lactose-free statins?

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NHS Evidence (NICE) – not just medicines but evidence on treatments and safety for professionals and patients

NHS Evidence brings together the latest key medicines and prescribing information into one place to make searching easy e.g. Royal Colleges, NICE, DH, eMC, MHRA, CKS

The easiest way to search is using the search box. Then use the filters, add one then another (to refine or narrow down. Remember to cancel if doing another search).

Clinical knowledge summaries (CKS) website contains easily accessible summaries of current evidence of many common presentations and practical guidance on how to manage them using best practice.

You can register for free e-mail updates, which is the best way of keeping up to date with news.

Have a go:

1. Find patient information on stroke treatments

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