🧵 How well do you know your dopamine antagonists? 💊💊

1/ Using these drugs safely requires that clinicians & patients appreciate their important #AdverseEffects, which are not always well understood

👉🏽ti.ubc.ca/letter139

#MedEd #prescribing #deprescribing #medsafety
2/ #AdverseEffects may include:

⚠️ Drug-induced #Parkinsonism
-↘️ or slowed movements, rigidity/tremor/unsteadiness, facial expression loss

⚠️ #Akathisia
-intense internal restlessness or desire to move (which may be mistaken for anxiety)

👉🏽Pt videos: ti.ubc.ca/letter139
3/ #AdverseEffects may include:

⚠️Acute dystonic reaction
-sudden, involuntary, often painful muscle spasm

⚠️Dyskinesia
-repetitive, involuntary movements...can be associated with cognitive decline

👉🏽Pt experience videos: ti.ubc.ca/letter139

#MedEd #ptsafety #drugsafety
4/ Are “atypical #antipsychotics” different?

Clozapine causes fewer extrapyramidal symptoms, but other toxicities limit use

Newer 💊 such as olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, & many later drugs retain potential to cause serious neurological, metabolic, other problems #MedEd
5/ Avoid serious harms when #prescribing dopamine antagonists:

⚠️Prescribe only when essential

↘️Use lowest effective dose

⏳Cautious time-limited prescribing for ppl w/ psychotic disorders & for some LTC residents after non-drug options exhausted

👉🏽ti.ubc.ca/letter139
6/ CONCLUSIONS:

👨🏽‍🏫 Learn/teach dopamine blockade symptoms/signs

⚠️ Exclude causation by DA antagonists before applying terms like "restless legs" to pts

🩺 Look/listen for drug-induced Parkinsonism, akathisia, movement disorders during pt exams

💊 Reassess tx dose/duration
@threadreaderapp unroll, SVP

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Therapeutics Initiative

Therapeutics Initiative Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Drug_Evidence

Nov 3
🧵 Reducing unnecessary use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)

1/ Many people take #PPIs but up to 50% don’t have a good reason to take them > 8 wks

Read on for tips on how you as a clinician can work together with pts to decide if/how to 🛑 or reduce PPIs

#MedEd #deprescribing Image
2/ Does this person need #PPIs long-term (> 8 wks)?
 
Find pts who might not need long-term PPI:
1⃣ Flag refill requests
2⃣ Use a poster or video in waiting room
3⃣ Run EMR report
 
This @bmj_latest article has more tips to help with #deprescribing PPIs: bit.ly/3fisHsT
3/ Indications for long-term #PPIs include:

Barrett’s esophagus, previous bleeding ulcer, chronic NSAID use w/ mod/severe bleed risk, severe esophagitis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
 
If no indication for long-term PPI + no ongoing upper GI symptoms, discuss poss #deprescribing Image
Read 7 tweets
Sep 15
🧵 Reducing #PrescribingCascades ⬇️

1/ What are #Prescribing Cascades?

1⃣ A drug is prescribed 💊
2⃣ #AdverseEvent occurs but is misinterpreted as a new medical condition ⚠️
3⃣Another drug is prescribed for the drug-induced adverse event 💊💊

ti.ubc.ca/letter138 #MedEd Image
2/ Anticholinergics ➡️ cognitive dysfunction ➡️ drugs for #dementia

#Anticholinergic 💊 block acetylcholinergic neurotransmission in the brain, impairing cognition & memory

Can lead to new Rx or ↗️ acetylcholinesterase inhibitor doses

ti.ubc.ca/letter138 #MedEd #FOAMed Image
3/ Drugs for #dementia ➡️ incontinence ➡️ anticholinergics

Conversely, AChE-I can cause urinary or fecal incontinence, that may "cascade" to prescription of an #anticholinergic

👉🏽 full Letter here: ti.ubc.ca/letter138

#MedEd #PrescribingCascades #MedTwitter Image
Read 10 tweets
May 26
THREAD: #Prescribers, how do YOU respond to Conflicts of Interest (COI)? 👀

1/8 This thread looks at the issues highlighted in our TI Therapeutics Letter on COI

👉🏼Full Letter: ti.ubc.ca/letter136

#ConflictofInterest #MedEd #MedicalEthics
2/8 Kirsten is a clinical pharmacist attending a primary care conference👩🏽‍⚕️

When a keynote speaker reports financial relationships💰with several drug companies, Kirsten takes note🤨

Find out why she prefers #MedEd free of commercial sponsorship: ti.ubc.ca/letter136
3/8 Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)

It's common practice to cultivate “expert” KOLs who are crucial to market success💵of a new drug

Payments to KOLs are reported in USA but similar disclosure does NOT exist in Canada
go.nature.com/39XdVVq

#FinancialInterests #ConflictofInterest
Read 9 tweets
May 16
THREAD: Online Portraits for BC family physicians

1/7 UBC’s Therapeutics Initiative now has Online #PrescribingPortraits: ti.ubc.ca/portrait

✅ Timely evidence
✅ Personalized, confidential prescribing data
✅ Recommendations to support

#BetterPrescribing & #BetterHealth Image
2/7 Why have a #PrescribingPortrait?

"How do I prescribe compared to others or to evidence standards?"

✅Portrait does NOT tell individual doctors how to practice
✅Portrait DOES promote optimal prescribing based on best available evidence

More here: ti.ubc.ca/portrait Image
3/7 BC family physicians: How do you prescribe ACEIs and ARBs for #hypertension?

✅Register for your Online #PrescribingPortrait: ti.ubc.ca/portrait

✅View a sample portrait on prescribing of antihypertensives: ti.ubc.ca/2022/01/28/ace…

#BetterPrescribing #MedEd Image
Read 8 tweets
Mar 28
THREAD: How best to treat Urinary Tract Infections?

1/6 Our new TI Therapeutics Letter 135 describes the best approach for treating symptomatic, uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections (UTIs)

👉🏽ti.ubc.ca/letter135

#MedEd #FOAMed #UTIs #BetterPrescribing
2/6 Use symptoms, not tests to diagnose UTIs:

Uncomplicated lower UTI can be diagnosed with > 90% probability if pt has 2 or more of dysuria, urgency, and frequency, and no vaginal discharge.

This is less reliably predicted for older women.

👉🏽ti.ubc.ca/letter135

#MedEd
3/6 No need to culture:

✅Fewer than 2% of urine cultures meaningfully impact choice of treatment or need for follow-up
✅Most guidelines recommend against culture for
symptomatic uncomplicated #UTIs

👉🏽ti.ubc.ca/letter135

#MedEd #BetterPrescribing #BetterHealth
Read 7 tweets
Feb 28
THREAD: Bring it down safely! ↘️💊

1/6 6⃣tweets about our new TI Therapeutics Letter 134: Finding the lowest effective dose for non-opioid #analgesics

👉🏾 Full Letter: ti.ubc.ca/letter134

#MedEd #medsafety #prescribing #BetterPrescribing Image
2/6 Consistent evidence that minority of pts get clinically meaningful pain relief from any dose of:
#Cyclobenzaprine (at best 1/4)
#Duloxetine (at best 1/6)
#Gabapentin / #Pregabalin (at best 1/6)

👉🏾ti.ubc.ca/letter134

#MedEd #ptsafety #BetterPrescribing #prescribing Image
3/6 Gabapentin, pregabalin, duloxetine:

A 2021 Canadian systematic review found NNT (numbers needed to treat) of 6-7 for "clinically meaningful benefit" (defined as ≥30% reduction in pain or pain & function)

👉🏾ti.ubc.ca/letter134

#MedEd #BetterPrescribing #deprescribing Image
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(