Nancy M Allen LaPointe

..We explored the use of anticoagulants, rate-controlling drugs, and antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with AF during the 4 years surrounding publication of these guidelines...

..Although the rate of aspirin use in this population was higher than previously reported, an estimated 6% of eligible patients were not receiving antiplatelet therapy...

..Some observations, such as greater use of the rate-control strategy with increasing age, were consistent with recommendations, but others, such as lower use of warfarin in the rate-control group, were not...

..We were unable to demonstrate a statistically significant association between persistent ACEI/ARB use and survival...

..beta-Blockers are also indicated in most patients who have an indication for an ICD; however, their use in this population is not well described. Some clinicians may be unaware of the recommendation for beta-blockers in this population...

..In conclusion, the results did not indicate any disparity in reporting the contraindications according to patient age...

..Little is known about the use of drugs or procedures for management of atrial flutter (AFl) in routine clinical practice. We describe the extent of use of conversion therapies during AFl hospitalizations...

..Changes in these beliefs during long-term care have not previously been studied and were evaluated for purposes of this analysis...

..The extent and documented reasons for nonuse of ICDs among patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction are unknown...

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..The extent to which bleeding risk is attributable to excess dosing of enoxaparin is unclear...

..Medication guides (MG) and mandatory patient package inserts (MPPI) are required with some prescription medications...

..Despite a survival benefit and guideline recommendation for beta-blockers in left ventricular systolic dysfunction, beta-blockers are underused in clinical practice...

..To assess the opinions and knowledge retention of practitioners after participation in the dofetilide risk-management program...

..S. Food and Drug Administration. This led us to assess the health care practitioners' knowledge of the QT interval and medications that may prolong it...

..S. market suggests that drugs without a risk-management program or detailed dosing guidelines were more likely than dofetilide or Betapace AF to be selected for treatment of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter...

..We investigated whether this program improved adherence to dosing and monitoring recommendations for dofetilide as compared with sotalol...

..Concurrent use of more than one QT-prolonging drug or a QT-prolonging drug with a drug that alters its pharmacokinetic profile is an important risk factor for adverse outcomes...

..Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is a mainstay of treatment for patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE ACS), but the practice of weight-adjusted bolus and infusion dosing has not been carefully evaluated...

..Large pharmaceutical claims databases are useful for detecting potentially harmful prescribing behaviors, but better clinical evidence on medication safety is needed before such a system can be implemented fully...

..To assess health care practitioners' ability to correctly measure the QT interval, and to identify factors and medications that may increase the risk of QT-interval prolongation and torsades de pointes...

..We assessed the economic effects of beta-blocker therapy from various perspectives: societal, Medicare, hospital, physician, and patient...

..Nonadherence to cardiovascular medications is a significant public health problem. This randomized study evaluated the effect on medication adherence of linking hospital and community pharmacists...

..Effective medical care assumes delivery of evidence-based medicines to appropriate patients with doses comparable to those studied...