June 2020 edition of Australian Prescriber out now

Quality use of medicines and COVID-19

People have died from overdoses of unproven cures in past pandemics. In an editorial published today in Australian Prescriber, Associate Professor Darren Roberts from St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and Dr Alexandra Bennett from the NSW Therapeutic Advisory Group advise we should not make the crisis worse by using medicines based on inadequate evidence. Currently all treatments for COVID-19 are experimental.

Ethical prescribing of hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic

Is it appropriate to prescribe hydroxychloroquine to family and friends for COVID-19? Associate Professor Ian Coombes and co-authors from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital write the answer should be ‘no’, from medical, ethical and possibly even legal perspectives.

Penicillin – getting prescribing right for children

Dosing recommendations for children in the product information and electronic prescribing systems are not always in line with latest evidence-based guidelines. Dr Brendan McMullan and Mona Mostaghim from Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and Victorian GP Dr Greg Rowles, note that penicillin dosing based only on age may result in a dose too low to be effective which may promote antibiotic resistance. Conversely an excessively high dose may result in an increased risk of side effects.

Also in the June issue of Australian Prescriber:

• Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus
• Lithium therapy and its interactions
• New drugs: Abemaciclib for breast cancer, acalabrutinib for mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, ceftazidime/avibactam for specified infections, isavuconazole for invasive fungal infections and stiripentol for Dravet syndrome.