As more and more pharmaceutical products come onto the market, there are so many potential drug interactions, and adverse reactions, to bear in mind during a consultation in primary care. In this week’s episode, we speak to Anders Holt, the author of a recent research paper looking at co-prescribing nitrates and sildenafil, which is surprisingly common, and adverse events associated with this. We also discuss the neuropsychiatric side effects of montelukast with Corine Ekhart, and talk about the challenges of striking the right balance between highlighting a rare but important side effect and causing the patient anxiety about taking the medication.


Our guests:

Anders Holt is a PhD candidate at Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.

Corine Ekhart is a pharmacist at the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.


Further reading:

‘Adverse Events Associated With Coprescription of Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors and Oral Organic Nitrates in Male Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease : A Case-Crossover Study’. doi:10.7326/M21-3445 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-3445

‘Neuropsychiatric reactions with the use of montelukast’. doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-067554

https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-067554