See also Anticholinergic drugs General information Benzatropine (benztropine) and etybenzatropine (ethylbenzatropine) are anticholinergic drugs. They represent attempts to combine atropine-like and antihistaminic effects in single molecules. The dose is determined individually and varies from 0.5 to 6 mg/day for benzatropine and 6 to 30 mg/day for etybenzatropine. Although the adverse reactions are essentially those of the anticholinergic drugs, sedation is very likely to occur and these…

General information Quaternary ammonium compounds are surface-active agents. Some of them precipitate or denature proteins and destroy microorganisms. The most important disinfectants in this group are cationic surface-active agents, such as benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride and methylbenzethonium chloride, and cetylpyridinium chloride; the problems that they cause are similar. Benzalkonium chloride is composed of a mixture of alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chlorides. The hydrophobic alkyl residues are paraffinic chains with…

See also Benzodiazepines General information Bentazepam is a benzodiazepine with properties similar to those of diazepam. You’re Reading a Preview Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles Become membership If you are a member. Log in here

See also Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) General information Since benoxaprofen, like zomepirac, provided an experience from which several lessons can be learnt, it deserves to be briefly reviewed, even though it was withdrawn 10 years ago. Some newer drugs may have some of its chemical or pharmacological characteristics and, consequently, its problems. Benoxaprofen was originally launched in 1980, with claims of a favorable adverse effects profile…

See also Acetylsalicylic acid General information Benorilate is an acetylsalicylic ester of paracetamol. It is slowly absorbed unchanged from the gastrointestinal tract but is rapidly hydrolysed to its components, aspirin and paracetamol. Thereafter its effects and kinetics are those of the two moieties. However, the delay in its metabolism reduces the incidence of direct gastric irritation, delays its onset of action, and prolongs its duration of…

See also Anorectic drugs , Fenfluramines . General information Benfluorex, which is structurally related to fenfluramine, was marketed in 1976 and has been used, mainly in France, as an appetite suppressant [ ] and to improve glycemic control and reduce insulin resistance in people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes [ ], including those with obesity [ ]. However, in 2009 the European Medicines Agency recommended…

See also Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors General information Safety data derived from the controlled trials submitted in the benazepril New Drug Application for hypertension have been reviewed [ ]. In more than 100 trials involving 6000 patients with hypertension or congestive heart failure, the types and incidences of adverse effects were comparable with those of other ACE inhibitors. Organs and systems You’re Reading a Preview Become a…

See also Diuretics General information Bemetizide is chemically unrelated to the thiazides, but it shares many of their actions and adverse effects. You’re Reading a Preview Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles Become membership If you are a member. Log in here

General information Bedaquiline is a diarylquinoline (previously referred to as TMC207 and before that R207910) that has many characteristics, both in vitro and in vivo, that make it a very attractive antituberculosis drug candidate [ ]. It is very potent in vitro against both multidrug-resistant and drug-susceptible strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis [ , ]. It inhibits mycobacterial F1F0 proton ATP [ ]. Bedaquiline was more active…

General information Batanopride is a substituted benzamide with 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist activity. It is claimed to be free of dopaminergic properties. Clinical studies have concentrated on its use in patients suffering severe vomiting as a result of cytostatic therapy, but have run into problems because of poor tolerance at effective doses. The most important dose-limiting adverse effect is severe hypotension [ ], but diarrhea and…

See also Monoclonal antibodies General information Basiliximab is a chimeric (human/mouse) anti-interleukin-2 receptor monoclonal antibody used in the prophylaxis of acute renal transplant rejection. It acts by binding the alpha chain of interleukin-2 receptors on activated T lymphocytes. Initially positive results in phase III trials have not been generally confirmed [ , ]. Compared with placebo, basiliximab was not associated with any specific adverse effects in…

General information Basidiomycetes are fungi that include mushrooms, puffballs, and bracket fungi. You’re Reading a Preview Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles Become membership If you are a member. Log in here

See also Calcium channel blockers General information Barnidipine is a dihydropyridine with antihypertensive activity and tolerability similar to that of other calcium antagonists of the same class. The most frequent adverse events are edema, headache, and flushing, but barnidipine does not cause reflex tachycardia [ ]. You’re Reading a Preview Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles Become membership If you…

General information Oral barium sulfate is theoretically non-toxic, but constipation and abdominal pain are not uncommon after barium meals or barium enemas [ ]. The main risk is that collections of barium will remain in the colon; they can persist for 6 weeks or longer in elderly patients or cases of colonic obstruction; barium fecoliths may even have to be removed surgically. Prolonged stasis of barium…

See also Methohexital ; Phenobarbital ; Primidone ; Thiopental sodium General information Barbituric acid was synthesized by Adolph von Baeyer in 1864, and a derivative, 5,5-diethylbarbituric acid was used as a hypnotic by Josef von Mering in 1885, following experiments with the related compound diethylacetylurea [ ]. Many analogues were subsequently synthesized, and a short list is given in Table 1 . Others include allobarbital (diallylbarbitone),…

See also Beta 2 -adrenoceptor agonists General information The efficacy of long-acting β 2 -adrenoceptor agonists in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remains unclear, but their role in treatment regimens, particularly in comparison with oral theophylline, has been reviewed [ ]. Bambuterol is a β 2 -adrenoceptor agonist, a biscarbamate ester prodrug of terbutaline [ , ]. It is available as the hydrochloride salt in…

General information Baclofen is a chlorophenyl derivative of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a naturally occurring inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal cord. It is of proven therapeutic value in reducing the severity of flexor or extensor spasms resulting from spinal cord injury or disease. The recommended oral dose is 5 mg tds, which can be carefully increased; however, the total daily dose should not exceed 80…

General information Bacitracin has mostly dermatological uses. It can cause allergic reactions of the delayed type. A shock-like picture after local application has occurred in a hypersensitive individual [ ]. Since bacitracin is nephrotoxic, it should not be given intraperitoneally to patients with renal impairment. Drug studies Observational studies In a randomized study of the effects of a triple antibiotic ointment (polymyxin B + bacitracin +…

See also Vaccines General information Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a suspension of living tubercle bacilli of the Calmette–Guérin strain. It is used mainly prophylactically against tuberculosis, but also as a means of stimulating the immune response in malignant disease. There are variations in the characteristics of BCG vaccines, depending on the strain of BCG derived from the original BCG strain and employed for vaccine production.…

See also Macrolide antibiotics General information The overall adverse reactions rate for azithromycin is 0.7% [ ]. Only diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain occurred in over 1% of patients. Other adverse effects that were reported from clinical trials in adults are palpitation, angina, dyspepsia, flatus, vomiting, melena, jaundice, vaginal candidiasis, vaginitis, nephritis, dizziness, headache, vertigo, somnolence, and fatigue. Azithromycin has also been reported to cause angioedema…