Risk-benefit Profile Of Drugs Research Articles

Pharmacological treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia: a network meta-analysis.

Pharmacological treatments are very common to be used for alleviating neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia. However, decision on drug selection is still a matter of controversy. To summarise the comparative efficacy and acceptability of currently available monotherapy drug regimens for reducing NPS in dementia. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials between inception and 26 December 2022 without language restrictions; and reference lists scanned from selected studies and systematic reviews. Double-blind randomised controlled trials were identified from electronic databases for reporting NPS outcomes in people with dementia. Primary outcomes were efficacy and acceptability. Confidence in the evidence was assessed using Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA). We included 59 trials (15,781 participants; mean age, 76.6years) and 15 different drugs in quantitative syntheses. Risperidone (standardised mean difference [SMD] -0.20, 95% credible interval [CrI] -0.40 to -0.10) and galantamine (-0.20, -0.39 to -0.02) were more effective than placebo in short-term treatment (median duration: 12weeks). Galantamine (odds ratio [OR] 1.95, 95% CrI 1.38-2.94) and rivastigmine (1.87, 1.24-2.99) were associated with more dropouts than placebo, and some active drugs. Most of the results were rated as low or very low according to CINeMA. Despite the scarcity of high-quality evidence, risperidone is probably the best pharmacological option to consider for alleviating NPS in people with dementia in short-term treatment when considering the risk-benefit profile of drugs.

The role of drug registries in the post-marketing surveillance

The aim of this article is to provide an introduction to issue of Recenti Progressi in Medicina, devoted to the role of drug registries in the post-marketing surveillance. We first motivate the need to implement registries as a tool in promoting the appropriateness of drug use and acquiring additional information on the risk-benefit profile of drugs. Then, the different role that can be played by registries in comparison with prescription monitoring systems and observational studies is clarified. The presentation of some of the most relevant registries established in Italy since the end of the '90s, with the analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, helps to understand some of the crucial issues that should be taken into account before a new registry is adopted. Specifically, we deal with the relationship between objectives - of appropriateness, effectiveness and safety - and methods; the overlapping between drug-based registries and disease-based ones; the duration and extension of data collection, which may be either exhaustive or based on a sampling frame; the importance of ensuring the quality of the data and to minimize the number of subjects who are lost to follow-up; the importance of infrastructures, and of ad hoc funding, for the functioning of a registry; the independence in data analysis and publication of findings.