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.
Case Report
Benzodiazepines (BDZ) are the drugs of choice to prevent the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Differences in treatment regimens, the choice of BDZ, as well as the presence of liver cirrhosis can substantially alter the exposure of patients to drugs used for AWS treatment so patients should be carefully monitored.
Review
Once changes in lifestyle have failed, treatment for gestational diabetes mellitus remains a matter of debate. In this article the authors review the evidence for glyburide and metformin, and discuss the role of insulin. Also, recommendations for postpartum screening and how to manage patients who are breastfeeding are described.
Review
Many of the agents used to treat type 2 diabetes have undesirable adverse effects of hypoglycemia and weight gain. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists represent a unique approach to the treatment of diabetes. In this article the authors discuss the various GLP-1 receptor agonists available on the market, specifically focusing on their relative efficacy, safety, and clinical differences as well as their potential benefits in addition to glucose lowering in type 2 diabetes, and describe the adverse effects and toxicities seen with these agents.
Case Report
In 2012, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the UK National Immunisation Programme for influenza be extended to include healthy children/adolescents aged 2–17 years. The extension of this new immunisation programme began in 2013–2014 and targeted children aged 2–3 years in primary care. This article describes the processes utilised in England and Scotland for programme setup, workforce management, identification and care of contraindicated patients, collection of data on vaccine uptake, communication strategies, and education of parents and children. In light of the lessons learnt from these pilot programmes, the authors make recommendations and offer practical advice to help ensure effective preparation and management of new childhood influenza vaccination programmes in other countries.
Original Research
Patients hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations carry a high risk for early rehospitalization. This study demonstrates that hospitals can use commonly collected clinical information to help identify COPD patients at a high risk of failure after discharge.
