Encourage Prescribers to Write Long-Acting Calcium Channel Blockers Generically

July 2016

It can be confusing to sort through the long-acting calcium channel blockers...Adalat XL, Cardizem CD, Tiazac XC, etc.

Drug suffixes (CD, ER, XL, etc) don't offer much help...there's no standard meaning to these for dosing, substitution, etc.

Use these rules of thumb to help keep the extended-release formulations of diltiazem and nifedipine straight.

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Table of Contents

Infectious Diseases Recommend Avoiding Quinolones for Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections
Substance Use Disorder Report Suspected Loperamide Misuse to Canada Vigilance
Cardiology Suggest Saving PCSK9 Inhibitors for Patients With Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Chronic Pain Recommend Avoiding Long-Acting Opioids When Starting Pain Treatment
Encourage Prescribers to Write Long-Acting Calcium Channel Blockers Generically
Insomnia Consider Melatonin an Option for Sleep in Elderly Patients
Smoking Cessation Give "Vapers" Resources to Quit E-Cigarettes
Anticoagulants Recommend Praxbind to Reverse Life-threatening Bleeding in Patients on Pradaxa
Anticoagulants Recommend Using Actual Weight to Dose Enoxaparin in Obese Patients
Communication Explain the "Why" to Encourage Patients to Talk Openly
Travel Medicine Tell Travellers Flomax is the Name for an NSAID in Italy