February edition of Australian Prescriber out now

Prescribing for transgender patients – supporting gender-affirming treatment

Sydney sexual health physician Louise Tomlins outlines gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender patients. Treatments are relatively straightforward and safe following similar principles to the treatment of postmenopausal women and hypogonadal men. The article includes a discussion of treatment for young people.

Are standard antibiotic courses too long?

Empirical evidence shows that shorter courses of antibiotics are nearly always as effective as longer ones, writes infectious diseases physician Heather Wilson. When antibiotics are indicated, evidence supports short antibiotic courses for many common infections including acute rhinosinusitis, mild community-acquired pneumonia and acute uncomplicated urinary tract infection.

Prescribing for adolescents – shifting power dynamics in the adolescent-parent-clinician triad

Associate professor in public health Melissa Kang discusses the challenges of prescribing for adolescents. Regarding safety and efficacy, adolescents are not ‘mini-adults’. Some medicines require paediatric dosing, while others are safe to use in adult doses. Capacity for consent to treatment develops as the adolescent matures, and the shifting power dynamics in the adolescent-parent-clinician triad is a challenge for many clinicians.