Drugs in Context Primary Care welcomes a broad range of article types including original research, study protocols and review articles.
In line with the principle of providing context for healthcare professionals (HCPs) to properly inform and improve disease management in real world medicine, we especially encourage the submission of articles that provide context for trials of drug interventions in order to motivate improvements in disease management by HCPs practising medicine in the front line.
Review
In this paper, the authors compare the efficacy and tolerability of five newer anti-obesity medications to guide clinical decision making, examining bupropion–naltrexone combination, liraglutide, lorcaserin, orlistat, and phentermine–topiramate combination.
Case Report
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management is complex, with few patients successfully achieving recommended glycemic targets with monotherapy, most progressing to combination therapy, and many eventually requiring insulin. Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are an emerging class of antidiabetes agents with an insulin-independent mechanism of action, making them suitable for use in combination with any other class of antidiabetes agents, including insulin. In this review the evaluates a 78-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial investigating the impact of empagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, as add-on to basal insulin in patients with inadequate glycemic control on basal insulin, with or without metformin and/or a sulfonylurea.
Review
Lung cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. This paper provides an overview of drug therapy options for squamous cell NSCLC with a focus on the evidence and clinical application of the anti-PD1 therapies. A comparison of the dosing, administration, indications, and differences in the measurement of PD-L1 expression in the clinical trials of nivolumab and pembrolizumab is also provided.
Review
Prescribing of antidepressant treatment (ADT) for major depressive disorder (MDD) has increased substantially over the last two decades. In this paper, the authors discuss the evidence that supports the use of ADT based on FDA approvals, data from randomized controlled trials or meta-analyses and where these are not available, the authors discuss and apply theoretical pharmacodynamic principles to help guide treatment choice in MDD.
Review
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is thought to be related to a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system. Sometimes, use of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for PTSD, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) sertraline and paroxetine, may not lead to full remission and symptoms of hyperarousal may persist. In this article the authors review the literature on the alpha-2 receptor agonists clonidine and guanfacine for the treatment of PTSD and conclude that while the evidence base is limited, these agents might be considered useful when SSRIs fail in patients with PTSD.
