NGC Update Service: May 9, 2016 ► Announcements

NGC Update Service: May 9, 2016

Announcements

Conference News

• The Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) 13th annual conference will take place from September 27-30, 2016 in Philadelphia. This conference will be co-hosted by the American College of Physicians, ECRI Institute and Penn Medicine. The theme is "Individualised Guidelines and Clinical Performance Measurement in an Era of Personalised Medicine." Registration now open. For more information, visit the G-I-N Conference Web site.
• The Guidelines International Network North America (G-I-N NA) continues to sponsor a monthly webinar series on topics of interest to the North American guideline community. Information on upcoming webinars, as well as audio files and slides from past webinars, are available on the G-I-N Web site.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisories

• April 26, 2016: Fluconazole (Diflucan): FDA is evaluating the results of a Danish study that conclude there is a possible increased risk of miscarriage with the use of oral fluconazole (Diflucan) for yeast infections. FDA is also reviewing additional data and will communicate final conclusions and recommendations when the review is complete.The current FDA drug label states that data available from studies in people do not suggest an increased risk of problems during pregnancy or abnormalities in developing babies when women are exposed to a single 150 mg dose of oral fluconazole to treat vaginal yeast infections. However, high doses of oral fluconazole (400-800 mg/day) taken by pregnant women for much longer than a single dose have resulted in reports of abnormalities at birth. In the Danish study, most of the oral fluconazole use appeared to be one or two doses of 150 mg.
• May 2, 2016: Brintellix (vortioxetine): FDA has approved a brand name change for the antidepressant Brintellix (vortioxetine) to decrease the risk of prescribing and dispensing errors resulting from name confusion with the blood-thinning medicine Brilinta (ticagrelor). The new brand name of the drug will be Trintellix, and it is expected to be available starting in June 2016. No other changes will be made to the label or packaging, and the medicine is exactly the same.
• May 3, 2016: Aripiprazole (Abilify, Abilify Maintena, Aristada): FDA is warning that compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat, shop, and have sex have been reported with the use of the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole (Abilify, Abilify Maintena, Aristada, and generics). These uncontrollable urges were reported to have stopped when the medicine was discontinued or the dose was reduced. These impulse-control problems are rare, but they may result in harm to the patient and others if not recognized.

Health Awareness Topics - May 2016

• Arthritis Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• Hepatitis Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month ® (see related guidelines)
• Mental Health Month (see related guidelines)
• National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month (see related guidelines and guideline synthesis)
• National Stroke Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• Preeclampsia Awareness Month (see related guidelines)

How to Participate

• Submit Guidelines: Visit our Submit Guidelines page for information on how to submit your organization's guidelines.
• Suggest a Guideline for Possible Inclusion: Submit your suggestions for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines that you would like to see included in NGC