24 research outputs found

    Typical investigational medicinal products follow relatively uniform regulations in 10 European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) countries

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to facilitate multinational clinical research, regulatory requirements need to become international and harmonised. The EU introduced the Directive 2001/20/EC in 2004, regulating investigational medicinal products in Europe.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a survey in order to identify the national regulatory requirements for major categories of clinical research in ten European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) countries-Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom-covering approximately 70% of the EU population. Here we describe the results for regulatory requirements for typical investigational medicinal products, in the ten countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results show that the ten countries have fairly harmonised definitions of typical investigational medicinal products. Clinical trials assessing typical investigational medicinal products require authorisation from a national competent authority in each of the countries surveyed. The opinion of the competent authorities is communicated to the trial sponsor within the same timelines, i.e., no more than 60 days, in all ten countries. The authority to which the application has to be sent to in the different countries is not fully harmonised.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Directive 2001/20/EC defined the term 'investigational medicinal product' and all regulatory requirements described therein are applicable to investigational medicinal products. Our survey showed, however, that those requirements had been adopted in ten European countries, not for investigational medicinal products overall, but rather a narrower category which we term 'typical' investigational medicinal products. The result is partial EU harmonisation of requirements and a relatively navigable landscape for the sponsor regarding typical investigational medicinal products.</p

    Rheumatoid arthritis, anti-tumour necrosis factor treatment, and risk of squamous cell and basal cell skin cancer: cohort study based on nationwide prospectively recorded data from Sweden

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    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of squamous cell and basal cell skin cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis naive to biologic drugs, in patients starting tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor treatment, and in the general population. DESIGN: Population based cohort study. SETTING: Nationwide data from Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis naive to biologics (n=46 409), cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis starting TNF inhibitor treatment as first biologic in 1998-2012 (n=12 558), and matched general population comparator cohort, identified through national quality of care and health registers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Hazard ratio of first in situ or invasive squamous cell skin cancer (1998-2012) and first basal cell cancer (2004-12). RESULTS: For basal cell cancer, the hazard ratio was 1.22 (95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.41) comparing biologics-naive rheumatoid arthritis patients with the general population and 1.14 (0.98 to 1.33; 236 v 1587 events) comparing TNF inhibitor treated patients with biologics-naive patients. For squamous cell cancer, the hazard ratio was 1.88 (1.74 to 2.03) comparing biologics-naive rheumatoid arthritis patients with the general population and 1.30 (1.10 to 1.55; 191 v 847 events) comparing TNF inhibitors with biologics-naive patients; the latter translated to an annual number needed to harm in the order of 1600. Among people with a history of squamous cell or basal cell cancer, TNF inhibitors did not further increase risks. CONCLUSION: A small to moderately increased risk of basal cell cancer was seen in biologics-naive rheumatoid arthritis patients, with no further effect of TNF inhibitors. For squamous cell cancer, the risk was nearly doubled in biologics-naive patients, with a further 30% increase in risk among patients treated with TNF inhibitors; this translates to one additional case for every 1600 years of treatment experience, assuming that this association reflected causality. Vigilance regarding skin malignancies may be advisable in rheumatoid arthritis, irrespective of TNF inhibitor treatment. Most of the increase in risk for non-melanoma skin cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with TNF inhibitors originates from factors other than that treatment

    Which Medication Is the Patient Taking at Admission to the Emergency Ward? Still Unclear Despite the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register.

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    Correct information on patients' medication is crucial for diagnosis and treatment in the Emergency Department. The aim of this study was to investigate the concordance between the admission chart and two other records of the patient's medication.This cohort study includes data on 168 patients over 18 years admitted to the Emergency Ward between September 1 and 30, 2008. The record kept by the general practitioner and the patient record of dispensed drugs in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register were compared to the admission chart record.Drug record discrepancies of potential clinical significance between the admission chart record and the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register or general practitioner record were present in 79 and 82 percent, respectively. For 63 percent of the studied patients the admission chart record did not include all drugs registered in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. For 62 percent the admission chart record did not include all drugs registered in the general practitioner record. In addition, for 32 percent of the patients the admission chart record included drugs not registered in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and for 52 percent the admission chart record included drugs not found in the general practitioner record. The most discordant drug classes were cardiovascular and CNS-active drugs. Clinically significant drug record discrepancies were more frequent in older patients with multiple medication and caregivers.The apparent absence of an accurate record of the patient's drugs at admission to the Emergency Ward constitutes a potential patient safety hazard. The available sources in Sweden, containing information on the drugs a particular patient is taking, do not seem to be up to date. These results highlight the importance of an accurate list of currently used drugs that follows the patient and can be accessed upon acute admission to the hospital

    Pharmacokinetics and Toxicity of Sodium Selenite in the Treatment of Patients with Carcinoma in a Phase I Clinical Trial: The SECAR Study

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    Background: Sodium selenite at high dose exerts antitumor effects and increases efficacy of cytostatic drugs in multiple preclinical malignancy models. We assessed the safety and efficacy of intravenous administered sodium selenite in cancer patients refractory to cytostatic drugs in a phase I trial. Patients received first line of chemotherapy following selenite treatment to investigate altered sensitivity to these drugs and preliminary assessment of any clinical benefits. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four patients with different therapy resistant tumors received iv sodium selenite daily for consecutive five days either for two weeks or four weeks. Each cohort consisted of at least three patients who received the same daily dose of selenite throughout the whole treatment. If 0/3 patients had dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), the study proceeded to the next dose-level. If 2/3 had DLT, the dose was considered too high and if 1/3 had DLT, three more patients were included. Dose-escalation continued until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was reached. MTD was defined as the highest dose-level on which 0/3 or 1/6 patients experienced DLT. The primary endpoint was safety, dose-limiting toxic effects and the MTD of sodium selenite. The secondary endpoint was primary response evaluation. Results and Conclusion: MTD was defined as 10.2 mg/m(2), with a calculated median plasma half-life of 18.25 h. The maximum plasma concentration of selenium from a single dose of selenite increased in a nonlinear pattern. The most common adverse events were fatigue, nausea, and cramps in fingers and legs. DLTs were acute, of short duration and reversible. Biomarkers for organ functions indicated no major systemic toxicity. In conclusion, sodium selenite is safe and tolerable when administered up to 10.2 mg/m(2) under current protocol. Further development of the study is underway to determine if prolonged infusions might be a more effective treatment strategy.Funding Agencies|Cancerfonden (The Swedish Cancer Society); Cancer-och Allergifonden; Stockholm County Council (ALF); Stichting AF Jochnick Foundation; Radiumhemmets Forskningsfonder</p

    Adverse Drug Reactions in a Tertiary Care Emergency Medicine Ward - Prevalence, Preventability and Reporting

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    <div><p>Purpose</p><p>To identify the prevalence and preventability of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in an emergency ward setting in a tertiary hospital in Sweden and to what extent the detected ADRs were reported to the Medical Product Agency (MPA).</p><p>Methods</p><p>In this prospective cross sectional observational study, 706 patients admitted to one of the Emergency Wards, at the Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Stockholm during September 2008 –September 2009, were included. The electronic patient records were reviewed for patients’ demographic parameters, prevalence of possible ADRs and assessment of their preventability. In addition, the extent of formal and required ADR reporting to national registers was studied.</p><p>Results</p><p>Approximately 40 percent of the patient population had at least one possible ADR (n = 284). In the multivariable regression model, age and number of drugs were significantly associated with risk of presenting with an ADR (p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively). Sex was not identified as a significant predictor of ADRs (p = 0.27). The most common ADRs were cardiovascular, followed by electrolyte disturbances, and hemorrhage. In 18 percent of the patient population ADRs were the reason for admission or had contributed to admission and 24% of these ADRs were assessed as preventable. The under-reporting of ADRs to the MPA was 99%.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>ADRs are common in Emergency Medicine in tertiary care in Sweden, but under-reporting of ADRs is substantial. The most frequent ADRs are caused by cardiovascular drugs, and significantly associated with age and number of drugs. However, only a minority of the detected serious ADRs contributing to admission could have been avoided by increased risk awareness.</p></div

    a. Reasons for admission to the Emergency Ward and b. clinically relevant discrepancies.

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    <p>Abbreviations: No. = number of patients with this diagnosis at admission (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0128716#pone.0128716.t001" target="_blank">Table 1a</a>) and number of clinically relevant discrepancies (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0128716#pone.0128716.t001" target="_blank">Table 1b</a>).</p><p>COPD = chronic pulmonary disease, HT = hypertension, HF = heart failure, AF = atrial fibrillation, MI = myocardial infarction RA = rheumatoid arthritis, SLE = systemic lupus erythematosus,TX = transplantation, DM = diabetes mellitus, HD = hemodialysis, ALS = amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ca = cancer, met = metastases, pulm = pulmonary</p><p>a. Reasons for admission to the Emergency Ward and b. clinically relevant discrepancies.</p

    Distribution of different types of discrepancies between records from the admission chart (ACR), the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), and the General Practitioner register (GPr).

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    <p>Type A: medication present in SPDR or GPr but not in ACR.</p><p>Type B: medication present in ACR but not in SPDR or GPr.</p><p>Type C+D: discrepancy regarding dose/regime (C) or amount prescribed insufficient to last until admission (D) in medication present in both records.</p><p>Distribution of different types of discrepancies between records from the admission chart (ACR), the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), and the General Practitioner register (GPr).</p

    Drugs classified by pharmacological groups according to the ATC classification system [10] involved in discrepancies in records from the admission chart (ACR), the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), and the General Practitioner register (GPr) as the numbers and the percentages of discrepancies.

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    <p>Drugs classified by pharmacological groups according to the ATC classification system [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0128716#pone.0128716.ref010" target="_blank">10</a>] involved in discrepancies in records from the admission chart (ACR), the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), and the General Practitioner register (GPr) as the numbers and the percentages of discrepancies.</p
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