Medicines And Stuff

Anticoagulants are medicines that help prevent blood clots. This episode covers main types of anticoagulants, their mode of action and use.

This guideline covers diagnosing and managing atrial fibrillation in adults. It includes guidance on providing the best care and treatment for people with atrial fibrillation, including assessing and managing risks of stroke and bleeding. '© NICE [2021] Atrial fibrillation: diagnosis and management. Available from www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng196 All rights reserved. Subject to Notice of rights NICE...

This guideline covers identifying and treating primary hypertension (high blood pressure) in people aged 18 and over, including people with type 2 diabetes. '© NICE [2019] Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management. Available from www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng136 All rights reserved. Subject to Notice of rights NICE guidance is prepared for the National Health Service in England. All NICE guid...

Ciprofloxacin is a 2nd generation quinolone antibiotic used to treat variety of bacterial infections. This episode is about main properties of this widely used antibiotic.

The full blood count (FBC) is one of the most commonly requested tests and evaluates the types and numbers of cells in the blood: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Anticholinergic drugs are associated with increased risks of impaired cognition, falls and death in patients over the age of 65 years. Combining treatments with anticholinergics might have cumulative harmful effects when given to patients with more than one condition. Rating scales called ACB (anticholinergic burden scale) have been developed in 2008 ranking drugs according to their anticholinergi...

Anticholinergic drugs are prescribed for a variety of conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, overactive bladder, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, nausea and vomiting, depression, psychosis and this episode is a general overview of their effects, properties and use.

Duloxetine is a drug widely used for depression, anxiety, nerve pain and urinary incontinence. This episode is about use and properties of this medication.

Amiodarone is a drug used to treat irregular heartbeats and this episode is about properties, indications, side effects and monitoring.  

STOPP/START criteria or toolkit is a medication review tool designed to identify medication where the risks outweigh the benefits in the elderly and vice versa STOPP/START stands for: screening tool of older person’s prescriptions and screening tool to alert to right treatment and were first published in 2008 by 18-member expert panel from academic centres in Ireland and the UK. It was reviewed, u...

An overview of Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) - focused on the NHS England Guidance on the implementation of SMRs by Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Link to NHS England Structured medication reviews and medicines optimisation: guidance https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SMR-Spec-Guidance-2020-21-FINAL-.pdf

Primary Care Networks - structure, purpose, funding and core services explained.

General overview of Antidepressants. Useful links for more information: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/ https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/depression/ https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/

General overview of painkillers featuring main drug classes with individual drugs and their properties.