TRIP

Newer drugs needed for doctor's bag

6minutes news, 2012

Many of the PBS emergency medicines supplied for the doctor’s bag are no longer best practice and should be replaced or withdrawn, an emergency specialist says
Benzylpenicillin is no longer the drug of choice for meningococcal disease because of increasing resistance and should be replaced with ceftriaxone or cefotaxime, says Dr John Holmes, Senior staff specialist, Emergency Medicine Sunshine Coast Area Hospitals.
Writing in the Australian Prescriber ( ) Dr Holmes says midazolam should be used in status epilepticus rather than diazepam, which is highly irritant to veins, has unpredictable bioavailability when administered intramuscularly and is rarely used rectally.
Other drugs that should be replaced include haloperidol and chlorpromazine for psychosis, where olanzapine is a better...
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