Loop diuretics are the mainstay in removing fluid off the body in patients with heart failure. They are very common in clinical practice. What should you think about when monitoring loop diuretics? Monitoring Loop Diuretics – Benefit? One of the challenges with...
I have seen the prescribing cascade happen in clinical practice far too many times! One of those classic examples is heart failure. A patient is placed on a new medication that contributes to edema and heart failure. With a period of days to weeks, that patient is...
I’m a little bummed about my Minnesota Twins. Drug problems are everywhere and my team is not exempt. Apparently, hydrochlorothiazide is a drug of abuse in MLB’s drug testing policy. Mike Pineda, one of the Twins pitchers failed a drug test and was found...
A 62-year-old male had a heart attack about 9 months ago. He was stented and placed on both aspirin 81 mg daily and clopidogrel 75 mg daily. He presents today to the emergency department and is diagnosed with a STEMI. His wife is wondering why the medications used to...
I recently did a podcast episode on heparin (which you can listen to below) and I did not mention hair loss as a potential adverse effect. In addition to heparin, it turns out there is data on other anticoagulants and this adverse effect as well. That begs the...
Alpha blockers are most frequently used in clinical practice to manage symptoms of BPH and probably less commonly used for hypertension. Here are a few relevant clinical practice pearls that are important to remember. Orthostasis/Syncope Alpha blockers are notorious...