INTRODUCTION
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. It affects approximately 5.6 million patients in the U.S. annually, and nearly two million patients require hospitalization for it. The financial impact of CAP is significant, and the cost of treatment is estimated to be nearly $10 billion; the primary cost-driver is [...]
The safety and tolerability of medications in special populations (e.g., in elderly patients or patients with renal or hepatic impairment) are always of concern because these conditions are often associated with altered drug metabolism. Although few studies have directly assessed the safety of tegaserod in special populations, several studies have examined potential relationships between age, [...]
The results of the TEgaserod NORdic (TENOR) trial also reinforce the drug’s safety and tolerability profile. In this 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 647 patients (86% women) whose primary bowel symptom was not diarrhea received 6 mg of tegaserod twice daily or placebo. ADEs were more common in the tegaserod group (23.9%) than in the placebo [...]
Tegaserod has demonstrated significant beneficial effects in patients (primarily women) with IBS-C. In large, controlled, randomized, phase 3 studies, tegaserod provided significantly greater overall improvement over placebo in relieving multiple and single symptoms of IBS-C, as described next.
Brain-Gut Axis Dysfunction
Symptoms of IBS arise from three main physiological abnormalities: altered GI motility, altered intestinal secretion, and enhanced visceral sensitivity. Although the motor, secretory, and sensory activities of the gut are under the direct control of the enteric nervous system (ENS), the central nervous system (CNS) contributes indirectly by modulating the activities of the [...]
INTRODUCTION
Canadian tegaserod maleate (Zelnorm generic, Novartis) is a unique pharmacological agent for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation (IBS-C). Unlike traditional IBS therapies, which target only single IBS symptoms, tegaserod drug has provided global relief of the multiple symptoms of IBS, including abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating, and constipation. It [...]
The CEI is a sophisticated integrated analysis of data from commonly available sources that addresses this question: Did the use of a new medication (e.g., LMWH) increase or decrease the overall cost of caring for inpatients who received it compared with similar patients who received an older medication (e.g., UFH)?
