Aspirin, you had a good run

It’s official: Low-dose aspirin is no longer recommended for people over 70 to prevent heart disease because there are better ways of treating the issues that aspirin can prevent. In fact, it might not be the best course for anyone because of the risk of bleeding in some people.

In fact…

“Clinicians should be very selective in prescribing aspirin for people without known cardiovascular disease,” John Hopkins cardiologist Dr. Roger Blumenthal, who co-chaired the new guidelines, said in a statement. “It’s much more important to optimize lifestyle habits and control blood pressure and cholesterol as opposed to recommending aspirin.”

BUT WAIT!

A new study finds that most cardiology guidelines actually don’t rely on a high enough standard of evidence. So take it all with a grain of salt (which may or may not be bad for blood pressure).

Georgia Pharmacy Day at the Braves!

Who: You, your family, friends, and colleagues
What: The NL East Champion Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers
When: Sunday, May 19 @ 1:20pm EDT
Where: SunTrust Park, Atlanta
Why: Just for fun!

GPhA price is a mere $17.00 — that’s less than two bucks per inning!

CLICK HERE to get your tickets before they sell out!

FREE BEER will not be available, but you’re welcome to purchase your own!

Get your 2019 convention T-shirt!

Previous convention shirts have become collector’s items*, so you’ll want to claim yours now! Head over to the GPhA Store (what, you didn’t know we had a store?) and buy one to wear to Amelia Island for the 2019 Georgia Pharmacy Convention!

* Not our conventions, but I’m sure some others have become collector’s items.

Another losartan recall

This time it’s from Legacy Pharmaceutical Packaging. Click here for the NDC numbers — and there are a bunch.

Seven is enough

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate would limit opioid prescriptions for acute pain to seven days. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores came out strongly in favor of it.

And speaking of opioids…

Total prescriptions are down in the U.S., but the average prescription length is increasing. In Georgia, the difference is notable but not huge.

Short duration opioid prescriptions (three or fewer days)

  • In 2006: More than 20% of Georgians
  • In 2017: 10 to 15%

Longer duration opioid prescriptions (greater than 30 days)

  • In 2006: Fewer than 18% of Georgians
  • In 2017: 18 to 26%

In both years, the average amount of opioids prescribed in Georgia was 500-649 MME (morphine milligram equivalents) per person.

2019 flu shot: Arm or nose are both OK again

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC both say that — for next year — either the nasal or traditional flu vaccine is OK for kids.

The AAP and CDC did not recommend using the nasal spray (live attenuated influenza vaccine, LAIV) in 2016-’17 or 2017-’18 due to poor effectiveness against H1N1 strains. LAIV manufacturer AstraZeneca has since changed the formulation of the vaccine to include a new strain (A/Slovenia) that it suggested would produce better antibody responses than the previous H1N1 strain (A/Bolivia).

The definitive study on eggs

Good for you? Bad for you? The final answer is … a little of both?

The long(ish) read

“Older Americans Are Awash in Antibiotics”

The drugs are not just overprescribed. They often pose special risks to older patients.