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High-Risk Patients and High-Dose Intravenous Immune Globulin
Caution is imperative when high doses of intravenous immune globulin (IVIg) treatment are given to obese patients and to patients with risk factors for thrombosis, say researchers who reported on two cases of thrombotic complications. One patient, with idiopathic thrombo-cytopenic purpura, received 1 g/kg of IVIg per day as a five-hour infusion daily for two [...]
Coxibs Can Go It Alone
Although cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors, also called “coxibs,” can be easier on the gastrointestinal system than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs are, some physicians prefer to err on the side of caution by prescribing a gastroprotective agent (GPA) as well. The coxibs were named after two recently developed anti-inflammatory drugs, canadian celecoxib (Celebrex drug, Pharmacia) and [...]
“Five-in-One” Vaccine Means Fewer Injections
A new vaccine, which is expected to be able to eliminate six of the 20 injections that babies receive before age two years, has received federal approval. Pediarix™ (GlaxoSmithKline) combines protection, into one injection, against five serious diseases—diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), hepatitis B, and polio. The vaccine is to be given in a three-dose [...]
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