Drug effectiveness study

Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after total knee or hip replacement: treatment pattern and outcomes

PURPOSE: To determine the thromboprophylactic treatment pattern and occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE), major bleeding, and wound infections in patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKR) or total hip replacement (THR). METHODS: From te PHARMO database, all patients >/= 18 years hospitalized for TKR or THR between January 2003 and September 2008 were selected

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Genetic variability within the cholesterol lowering pathway and the effectiveness of statins in reducing the risk of MI

Genetic variability has been shown to affect statin responsiveness. Participants from the Utrecht Cardiovascular Pharmacogenetics (UCP) studies were enrolled from a population-based registry of pharmacy records linked to hospital discharge recordsPHARMO) to investigate tagging SNPs within candidate genes involved in the cholesterol lowering pathway for modification of the effectiveness of statins in reducing the risk of myocardial infarction (MI)

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Non-selective vs. selective beta-blocker treatment and the risk of thrombo-embolic events in patients with heart failure

AIMS: Heart failure (HF) is associated with a prothrombotic state, resulting in an increased risk for thrombo-embolic events. Studies suggest a reduced prothrombotic state when non-selective beta-blockers relative to selective beta-blockers are givn. We studied the influence of non-selective beta-blockers compared with selective beta-blockers on the occurrence of arterial and venous thrombo-embolic events in patients with HF

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Evaluation of smoking cessation drug use and outcomes in the Netherlands

OBJECTIVE: Several pharmacological therapies are available to help smokers quit. The aim was to investigate the utilisation and effectiveness of smoking cessation drugs in daily practice in the Netherlands. METHODS: Subjects aged >/=18 years with apharmacy prescription of varenicline, bupropion, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or nortriptyline between March 2007 and September 2008 were identified from the PHARMO data warehouse, which includes drug dispensing, hospitalisation and other data fromapproximately 2

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Variants of ADAMTS1 modify the effectiveness of statins in reducing the risk of myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within candidate genes involved in the putative anti-inflammatory effects of statins on the effectiveness of statins in reducing the risk of myocardial infarcion (MI). METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in a population-based registry of pharmacy records linked to hospital discharge records (PHARMO)

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Effect of concomitant CYP2D6 inhibitor use and tamoxifen adherence on breast cancer recurrence in early-stage breast cancer

PURPOSE: The use of cytochrome P450 2D6-inhibiting drugs (CYP2D6 inhibitors) during tamoxifen treatment leads to a decrease in plasma concentration of endoxifen, the major active tamoxifen metabolite. Concomitant use of CYP2D6 inhibitors, such as slective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as well as low tamoxifen adherence may negatively impact tamoxifen efficacy in patients with breast cancer

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Glycemic control and long-acting insulin analog utilization in patients with type 2 diabetes

INTRODUCTION: The objective was to compare glycemic control, insulin utilization, and body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) initiated on insulin detemir (IDet) or insulin glargine (IGlar) in a real-life setting in the Netherlands. METHDS: Insulin-naive patients with T2D, starting treatment with IDet or IGlar between January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2008, were selected from the PHARMO data network

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Is aspirin useful in patients on lithium? A pharmacoepidemiological study related to bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVES: Administration to rats of mood stabilizers approved for bipolar disorder (BD) downregulates markers of the brain arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) metabolic cascade, including phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) and cyclooxygenase (COX) expressionWe hypothesized that other agents that target the brain AA cascade, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids, also would ameliorate BD symptoms

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