Surprising C diff risk factor

Is there a link between antidepressants and C. diff infection (CDI) in the hospital? Maybe, according to some scattered studies, but Cleveland Clinic researchers wanted to find out for sure. They looked at the data from more than 55 million patients (!) and found that “As it turns out, there is a link between antidepressants and hospital-acquired CDI.”

1. The percentage difference is big: Almost 33% more of the patients on antidepressants got C. diff infections.
2. The number difference is small: 0.8% of antidepressant users got infections compared to only 0.6% of non-users.
3. This just shows a connection, not a cause and effect.

What exactly is the connection? You know the drill: More research is needed.

Go go, GPh Go!

The official Georgia Pharmacy Convention app will be available June 2 — that’s this afternoon! [insert new-app dance here]

If you’re coming to the convention — or just want to attend vicariously through those who are — grab it today. It’s free, of course, and it’ll let you see what’s happening and keep up with what attendees, exhibitors, and speakers are doing. So search your favorite app store for GPh Go or use a link:

• Android phones: Click here for GPh Go on Google Play.
• Other smartphones: Click here for GPh Go on the Apple App Store.

Fight GLP-1, fight nicotine?

First diabetes, then weight loss, then cancer — what’s next for GLP-1 inhibitors? How about curing nicotine addiction?

Looking at how liraglutide affects weight gain, a group of those shifty Danes…

“ … discovered, more or less by accident, that a well-known drug, liraglutide, used to treat diabetes and overweight, affects the impact of nicotine on the brain. Liraglutide inhibits the effect that nicotine has on the brain’s reward system.”

Both GLP-1 and nicotine can control appetite, so it’s not entirely surprising that drugs that inhibit GLP-1 can also hinder nicotine’s effects. But, of course, this was just the “That’s odd” moment — more work is needed to see if it’s got true clinical benefit.

FDA’s hands are tied

Hospitals and oncology practices are facing a critical shortage of cisplatin and carboplatin and people are turning to the government — in particular the FDA — to solve the problem. But it’s a private-industry issue, explained Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence. It’s because “manufacturers failed to invest in enhancing production capacity.”

Said he:

“Based on current laws, FDA cannot require a manufacturer to report an increase in demand that may lead to a drug shortage. Appropriately, we cannot require a company to manufacture a drug.

“We cannot require a company to make greater quantities of the drug — specifically, to step-up production. We cannot require a distributor to report on the quantities that are distributed and specific purchasers who may be given priority.”

In theory, Congress could give the FDA more power to control the pharmaceutical industry, but smacks of a Soviet-style^* planned economy, and we know how that turned out. The FDA is doing what it can, including “exploring temporary importation to help meet patients’ needs during the shortage.”

^* Kids, ask your parents.

Elsewhere: Cutting off their noses

Some states (not Georgia!) are more concerned about saving money than making sure people can afford healthcare. They’re cutting residents from Medicaid rolls now that the pandemic is over, but they’re so enthusiastic that most of the people being cut are seeing it done for paperwork reasons, not eligibility reasons.

The overwhelming majority of people who have lost coverage in most states were dropped because of technicalities, not because state officials determined they no longer meet Medicaid income limits. Four out of every five people dropped so far either never returned the paperwork or omitted required documents.

New medication … or asteroid?

It’s been a while, but it’s time to play everyone’s favorite pharmaceutical quiz!

Five of these are novel drugs approved by the FDA in 2022 or early 2023. Five are minor asteroids in the solar system. Do you know which is which?

Find the answers here.

You can play previous versions of the game!

• Drug or Pharaoh?
• Drug, alien, or K-pop star?
• Medication … or Azerbaijani Village?

Short Take

Now there are two (RSV vaxes)

The FDA has approved Pfizer’s Abrysvo RSV vaccine for people 60 and over; this follows on the heels of the agency’s approval of GSK’s RSV vax Arexvy. It’s expected to be available before the fall RSV season.