Tamiflu: Prepared From Tamiflu Capsules

Extemporaneously Prepared

If the commercially prepared oral suspension is not available, the manufacturer provides the following compounding information to prepare a 6 mg/mLsuspension in emergency situations.

1. Place the specified amount of water into a polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) or glass bottle.

2. Carefully separate the capsule body and cap and pour the contents of the required number of 75 mg capsules into the PET or glass bottle.

3. Gently swirl the suspension to ensure adequate wetting of the powder for at least 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the specified amount of vehicle to the bottle.

5. Close the bottle using a child-resistant cap and shake well for 30 seconds to completely dissolve the active drug.

6. Label “Shake Well Before Use.”

Stable for 35 days refrigerated or 5 days at room temperature. Shake gently prior to use. Do not dispense with dosing device provided with commercially-available product.

Preparation of Oseltamivir 6 mg/mL Suspension

Body Weight	Total Volume per Patient1	# of 75 mg Capsules2	Required Volume of Water	Required Volume of Vehicle2,3	Treatment Dose (wt based)4	Prophylactic Dose (wt based)4
1Entire course of therapy.
2Based on total volume per patient.
3Acceptable vehicles are cherry syrup, Ora-Sweet® SF, or simple syrup.
4Using 6 mg/mL suspension.
≤15 kg	75 mL	6	5 mL	69 mL	5 mL (30 mg) twice daily for 5 days	5 mL (30 mg) once daily for 10 days
16-23 kg	100 mL	8	7 mL	91 mL	7.5 mL (45 mg) twice daily for 5 days	7.5 mL (45 mg) once daily for 10 days
24-40 kg	125 mL	10	8 mL	115 mL	10 mL (60 mg) twice daily for 5 days	10 mL (60 mg) once daily for 10 days
≥41 kg	150 mL	12	10 mL	137 mL	12.5 mL (75 mg) twice daily for 5 days	12.5 mL (75 mg) once daily for 10 days

Related articles

• Tamiflu approved for children 2 weeks and up (vitals.nbcnews.com)
• FDA Approves Tamiflu for Infants (lunaticoutpost.com)
• FDA Approves Tamiflu for Infants (webmd.com)
• Flu Drug Tamiflu OK for Babies Under 1: FDA (news.health.com)
• Flu Drug Tamiflu OK for Babies Under 1: FDA (oddonion.com)
• So You Have the Flu... Now What? (yourvirtualpharmacist.com)

Health in the News

In short: The FDA approves Truvada to prevent HIV infection.  This is a first.  When taken daily, Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) reduced the risk of HIV infection by 42 percent compared with a placebo. That was in a clinical trial where HIV-negative people had unprotected sex with multiple partners, including some HIV carriers, according to the FDA. Another trial involving heterosexual couples where one partner was infected -- and condoms were used routinely -- found that Truvada reduced the risk of infections by 75 percent.

I'm not sure where you would find people to take part in a study such as this, but Truvada is a treatment for an individual is already infected.  A prevention besides the usual barrier methods (or abstenance) is novel.

Another - Watching TV Causes Larger Waistlines  - no brainer right?

And the unthinkable - Dr. Stephen Stein, Denver Oral Surgeon, May Have Exposed Over 8,000 to HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.  The department sent out letters to 8,000 of Dr. Stein's patients Friday, urging them to seek tests for disease if they received intravenous (IV) medications, including sedation, under Stein’s care from September 1999 through June 2011.  Really?  What kind of healthcare professional would do this?  Of course now, he's skipped town.  Seems he may be guilty of prescription fraud and diverting medications.

Interestingly, in Germany, circumcision in the news.  German doctors are seeking an urgent clarification from the government over religious circumcision after a court ruling calling it a criminal act prompted an international outcry.  I know this is a hot button topic with many.

The College of Physicians called on the government to act to prevent clandestine circumcisions and to ensure that "children do not fall into the hands of any butcher or any old health worker".

The Cologne ruling concerned a case brought against a doctor who had circumcised a four-year-old Muslim boy in line with his parents' wishes.

When the boy later suffered heavy bleeding, prosecutors charged the doctor.

Although the doctor was acquitted, the court judged that "the right of a child to keep his physical integrity trumps the rights of parents" to observe their religion, potentially setting a legal precedent.

Want to lose weight?  Don't eat out at lunch, don't skip meals, and log everything you eat in a journal.  So, first thing I'm going to do since I've already started using Fitness Pal is to brown bag it from now on.

Related articles

• FDA approves first drug for reducing the risk of sexually acquired HIV infection (miamiherald.typepad.com)
• First HIV-prevention pill approved by FDA (cbsnews.com)
• Dentist behind HIV risk fears in Colorado: Dirty needles used? (examiner.com)
• Antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for preventing HIV in high-risk individuals. (zedie.wordpress.com)

The Sun-kissed Glow; The Precancerous Glow

It's that time of year again.  Summer.  Although it is not June 21st yet, it is that time of year where millions of people take a weekend vacation to the beach.  Including my family.  I noticed right away that one of my children seemed to be glowing a bit red where I had missed applying sunscreen.  Not good.  Her little area beneath one eye is pink now and puffy and to be honest, I just don't even look at tans the way I used to. I hate to admit that once upon a time in my teens and twenties, I coveted and regularly paid for tanning appointments.  A tan made me feel thinner which I desperately wanted to be.  My mother regularly tanned as well, though she won't now thanks to a brush with squamous cell carcinoma.  Seriously, if you tan or love to tan, give it up.  It's just not worth it later in life.  Hers looked like a wart.  I think she has at least 10 stitches?  Whatever the outcome, it is not worth it.

So, of course when you get to the beach and see hundreds of people flocking to the beach, you wonder... do people know about sunscreen?  Do they realize that the sunscreen industry is changing and that the FDA is also changing things?

Go ahead and lose the word sunscreen first.  Currently, sunscreen standards relate to UVB sun exposure, the primary cause of sunburns and a contributor to skin cancer and premature aging. Under the FDA's new rules, the sunscreens will also have to be tested and labeled to disclose UVA protection. Radiation from this type of sun ray is more deeply penetrating, passes through windows, and is linked to skin cancer and early aging.

This summer, if the FDA determines that a sunscreen protects both from UVA and UVB, it will be labeled broad spectrum.  Sunscreen will no longer be able to say they are waterproof or sweat proof.  No more labeling that a sunscreen can stay on longer than two hours without reapplying.

The playing field is about to become level, and it is most definitely time.

I personally use Blue Lizard Sunscreen, and I can't say enough good things about it.  My dermatologist recommended it, and I use it daily on my face!