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Editorial: What happened?

All subscribers should have received the "reprinted" replacement copy of the January/February 2011 issue of IJPC this week. Although IJPC has had very, very few errata over its 14+ years of publication, there was a printers' error that occurred in this issue.

We generally review about 3 proofs from the printing company prior to the final proof going to print. The January/February 2011 issue was in preparation over the holidays with a lot of things going on including weather, sickness, holidays, etc. Even though the IJPC staff had reviewed the proofs, made corrections, sent them to the printer, and the edits were entered into the system, when it came time for printing, the print shop sent the next to the last proof to the computerized printing equipment instead of the final approved proof. Since IJPC doesn't see the final printed journal until after the journals have been delivered to the mail house, the printing error was not caught before they were mailed to our subscribers.

The printing company deeply apologized for the error and, at their expense, reprinted the January/February 2011 issue. Then, the reprinted journals were mailed to all our subscribers with a flyer requesting that the original copy be destroyed. Some subscribers have called to ask what errors were made; therefore, we have listed them below:

Page 1: (1) On the second article listed on this page of the Table of Contents, the author order should be reversed. (2) On the final article listed on this page of the Table of Contents, the title was incorrect. The title should have read "Toxicities and Maximum Recommended Doses of Topical Anesthetics."

Page 10: The reference list was incorrect. The edits weren't reflected and a total of 7 references should been shown instead of 6. This also made the reference citations incorrect throughout the article.

Page 13: The author order should be reversed.

Page 14: Within Table 1, last row of text, the "Yes", "408", and "66.4" should have been aligned to the left within the columns.

Page 28: The incorrect formula for this article was published. The title of the correct formula (which is included in the revised version) is "Potassium Bromide 1100-mg Capsules."

Page 41: (1) The title of the article is incorrect; the correct title is "Toxicities and Maximum Recommended Doses of Topical Anesthetics." (2) The resources should have been deleted and replaced with two references, both of which are cited within Tables 1 and 2. (3) Within Tables 1 and 2, the "2" after each "cm" should have been superscripted.

Page 79: The caption for the Y axis was deleted from Figure 2. The Y axis should have read "Percent Found."

There were other minor errors, but I have listed only those that are crucial.

We sincerely hope this has not caused any problems to any of our subscribers.


Loyd V. Allen, Jr., Ph.D., R.Ph.
Editor-in-Chief

Four-Drug or Three-Drug Combo for H. Pylori
Researchers have reported that a four-drug regimen over 10 days has been found to work as well as the three-drug, seven-day regimen that's the standard ulcer treatment. In addition, it may help overcome the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Due to increased resistance to clarithromycin, the standard week-long therapy has become less effective in recent years. Resistance to metronidazole appeared to have no effect, and one of the effects of adding the bismuth salt is to help overcome resistance to metronidazole. Opinions show that bismuth-containing quadruple therapy is effective and acceptable "in regions where resistance to clarithromycin is high."
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/PreventiveCare/24991

Lavender Oil Has Strong Antifungal Properties
Portuguese researchers have shown that lavender oil has strong antifungal properties, effectively destroying various dermatophytes and species of Candida when tested. In the last few years, there has been an increase in the incidence of fungal diseases, particularly among immunocompromised patients. Unfortunately, there is also increasing resistance to antifungal drugs.

The researchers suggest that the antifungicidal effect of lavender oil may be due to its ability to damage fungal cell membranes, eventually causing cell death. An active component, Lavandula oil, shows wide-spectrum antifungal activity and is highly potent, serving as a good starting point for developing this oil for clinical use to manage fungal infections. The results of this study are published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.
http://www.medwire-news.md/66/91189/Dermatology/Lavender_oil_has_strong_antifungal_properties_.html

House Panel Requests FDA Documents in Heparin Probe
U.S. health regulators have failed to identify those responsible for the widespread contamination of heparin; it is now three years after the Baxter drug was recalled, a U.S. House of Representatives panel said.

In a letter to the FDA, the House Energy and Commerce Committee called on the agency to release all documents related to its investigation into the drug and ingredients from China.

It is believed that all or some of the individuals responsible for the adulteration are still actively engaged in the Chinese pharmaceutical supply chain and pose a continuing threat to pharmaceutical products imported to the U.S.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/23/congress-fda-baxter-idUSN2316755820110223

Prescription Data Access to Be Decided by Supreme Court
Should physicians' prescription data be off-limits to drug companies? The court will decide whether Vermont can ban selling the information to drug companies. The importance in this case is what determines commercial speech. In one case, the law says companies can't sell prescription information for marketing purposes, and drug companies can't use it unless prescribing doctors consent.

IMS, a market research consulting company, argued that the law hindered its First Amendment rights. IMS was joined by PHARMA and others and sued Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell over the law's enforcement.

PHARMA companies use prescribing information to tailor marketing messages and influence doctors' prescribing practices; efforts often are directed toward increasing sales of brand drugs.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/02/21/gvsb0221.htm

USP Details Proposed Changes to PET Drug Production Standards
The U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention has outlined a series of new quality-assurance standards for the production and compounding of PET drugs that would cover responsibilities such as personnel training, equipment maintenance, quality control, and labeling and packaging.

USP Chapter <823> Radiopharmaceuticals for Positron Emission Tomography-Compounding has not been modified since it was published in 1998 although there have been many changes through the evolution of the radiopharmaceutical over the past 13 years.

Public comment on the proposed changes will continue until March 31, 2011. If there are no significant changes to the revisions, USP could vote on a final draft in June. If major changes are necessary, USP will republish its proposal and again take public comment.
http://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=mol&pag=dis&ItemID=94304

Application and Review of Pediatric Pharmacotherapy
2nd ed.
Glover ML
December 2010; 488 pages; Paperback; $49.99

How many times have you heard the statement, "Kids are not just small adults"? One of the areas where pharmacists really can play a major role is in working with physicians in individually treating pediatric patients.

This book is a self-assessment tool to assist pharmacists, nurses, and students in enhancing their knowledge of pediatric pharmacotherapy and in applying their knowledge to case-based scenarios. Divided into four sections: (1) neonatal intensive care, (2) pediatric intensive care, (3) pediatric in-patient, and (4) pediatric out-patient, it is easy to use and one can actually start anywhere in the book. Answers are provided at the end of each section to the questions for instant feedback.

Material is presented from the very basic through the advanced and challenging. A great learning tool for those involved in working with pediatric patients.

�that some of the best sermons and lessons are lived, not preached or spoken?

Continuing Courage
As Winston Churchill stated: "Success is not final...failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."