Download Sublime drug interactions database What a sublime pleasure it is as

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NyA RON
Sublime drug interactions database
W hat a s ub l i m e p l e as ur e i t i s as
a c r i ti c al r e s e arc he r and r e p or te r
to b e ab l e to pr ai s e the v e ry
p r od uc t I hav e b ee n as ke d to
r e s e arc h! SFINX database on drug
interactions is long awaited and a n
instant hit! For many years,
Swedish doctors had access to a
unique, annually updated and
critically evaluated written source
of clinically significant drug
interactions: the specific
interaction chapter of Fass, written
by professor Folke Sjöqvist. Fass
stopped publishing this chapter in
2004, and its continuation on the
website http://fass.se does not even
come close to the same quality and
usability, so healthcare professionals
have been lacking an easily accessible
and reliable source on interactions –
which is such a common clinical
issue when prescribing a drug.
This discrepancy was addressed,
for instance, in a joint appeal by t h e
Swedish Society of Medicine
(Svenska Läkaresällskapet) and
Swedish Medical Association
( Svenska Läkarförbundet) in
Fe br uar y 2007 (Ker s tin Hul ter
Å sber g and Anders Dahlqvist).
SFINX
(Swedish Finnish
Interaction X-referencing) is a
cooperation between Karolinska
Institutet’s department for clinical
pharmacology in Huddinge,
Sweden, the Department
of Drug Management and Informatics
of Stockholm County Council
a n d Medbase Ltd in Turku, Finland
– a spin-off company from the local
university’s clinical pharmacology
department. The database contains
classification (degree of seriousness,
instantly demonstrated to the reader
through colour coding),
consequences and recommendations
for clinical management of the
interactions.
The SFINX interaction
database is... the best,
most clinically
relevant, critically
2662
investigative, up-todate, readable and
accessible source for
the extensive
problem... of drug
interactions.
More information about the
mechanisms and key references
are only one keystroke away. This
hierarchic “click deeper” system
makes the information easily
readable and available, and you
can select how in-depth you want
the information to be yourself.
Furthermore, there is a printer friendly summary, which is also
good.
The database is updated four times
per year by a team of doctors,
including clinical pharmacologists
and pharmacists, who synthesize
knowledge from scientific literature
and a number of interaction
databases and other sources of
knowledge to a short, evaluative
text. Many other databases and
interaction search systems often
drown themselves and the user in
numerous interactions that are not
clinically relevant. This is not the
case with SFINX.
Janusfönster. In the near future it
will hopefully also be incorporated in
The Swedish Drug Information
Database (Svensk informationsdatabas för läkemedel, SIL) and
integrated directly into the various
journal systems. The service is free
(but obviously cost a lot to create
and is expensive to maintain!). The
first time you use the SFINX
database you must set up an
account, but from then on all you
need to do is log in at janusinfo.se
with your username and password.
In conclusion I would like to
point out that after many years in
the field , SFINX’s interaction
database is, even internationally
speaking, the best, most clinically
relevant, critically investigative,
up-to-date, readable and
accessible source for the
extensive problem (not to mention
information problem) of drug
interactions .
RuneDahlqvist
Professor of Clinical Pharmacology
at Norrlands University Hospital in
Umeå, Sweden
http://www.janusinfo.se
The database’s search
system is based on both substance
(generic) name and the brand name of the
drug, which makes it more user-friendly for
many. You can search for all interactions of a
specific drug, or compare it to another
specific drug you’re unsure of. Enter at least
the three first letters of the substance or
drug and then the system will take care of
the rest. However you cannot, at least not in
this first version, search for a group of drugs,
for instance check whether statins are
affected by cyclosporine interaction.
The information is available to the
Swedish public via
http://www.janusinfo.se and the
decision support system
LAkARTiDNiNGEN NR 39 2008 vOLyM 105