Dental CE Course: Clinical Pharmacology Update: Adverse Drug Interactions and New Drugs That Could Be Useful in Your P

As new drugs reach the marketplace and patients take an increasing variety of pharmaceutical agents, the potential for serious drug interactions continues to grow. For example, a seven-day course of erythromycin in a patient taking chronic simvastatin could potentially lead to skeletal muscle destruction, kidney failure, and death. Other studies have found that commonly prescribed antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, sertraline, and paroxetine may interfere with the analgesic activity of codeine; that nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, can impact the blood-pressure-lowering effects of various antihypertensive medications; and that the combination of SSRIs and NSAIDs could significantly increase the risk of an upper GI bleed. This course will address a host of findings on adverse drugs interactions and strengthen your understanding of the mechanism behind them, while also highlighting new drugs that can have a positive impact on your practice. Dr. Hersh, a lead investigator in the development of innovative local anesthetic and analgesic drugs, will share his experience with these products, while walking you through the complex area of adverse drug interactions.