December resource updates

The December 2019 release of eTG complete includes practice-changing updates to the antibiotic, cardiovascular, dermatology and neurology guidelines, as well as the recent comprehensive update to the Oral and Dental guidelines, The Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Medicines Guide (PBMG) has also been updated with new and revised information.

eTG complete

Antibiotic guidelines

• A PDF guide for assessing patients with reported penicillin allergy has been added.
• The advice on dosage adjustment of vancomycin in neonates and children has been updated to recommend seeking expert advice if a total daily dose of more than 70 mg/kg is required to achieve the target plasma concentration.
• The maximum unit dose of benzylpenicillin for children with erysipelas or cellulitis with systemic features has been changed from 2 g to 1.2 g to align with the maximum unit dose recommended for adults.
• A footnote has been added to explain the basis for the recommendations for dosage adjustment of oseltamivir for adults with impaired renal function.

Cardiovascular guidelines

• A footnote has been added to acknowledge the recommendation to use the sexless CHA2DS2-VASc score to stratify stroke risk in patients with ‘nonvalvular’ atrial fibrillation in the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation 2018. 
• The dosing of danaparoid for treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia has been updated to align with the Thrombosis and Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand (THANZ) consensus statement on diagnosis and management of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Dermatology guidelines

• The management of primary oral mucocutaneous herpes has been updated to include currently available topical analgesics and anaesthetics. Episodic antiviral therapy for a minor recurrence in immunocompetent adults now includes a single dose of oral famciclovir.

Neurology guidelines

• The rate of infusion of intravenous sodium valproate for the acute management of seizures has been updated in line with evidence.
• Psychotropic guidelines
• A footnote to alert users to the discontinuation of trifluoperazine and fluphenazine has been added.
• Sources of information for psychotropic drug use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding have been updated.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Medicines Guide (PBMG)

Following are the December updates to PBMG:

• Fact sheet reviewed: The venlafaxine patient fact sheet has been reviewed and uploaded to our website
• New medicine profiles added: Two new medicine profiles – bethanechol and afatinib have been added to our medicines library.
• Therapeutic group information reviewed: The Asthma medicines therapeutic group has been reviewed and updated to reflect current recommendations in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Medicine profiles revised: 98 medicine profiles have been reviewed and updated, including cardiovascular, dermatological and immunomodulator and antineoplastic medicines.