1 December 2008

Health professionals can now access a new information leaflet explaining recent changes to infective endocarditis guidelines, which has been developed by the National Prescribing Service Ltd (NPS) for consumers.

In July 2008, Therapeutic Guidelines published revised guidelines for the use of antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing infective endocarditis. The new guidelines:

• recommend antibiotic prophylaxis only for patients with the highest risk of adverse outcomes
• specify the procedures for which antibiotic prophylaxis is now recommended.

The patient information leaflet explains the recent changes to antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in lay terms and discusses the heart conditions and procedures that warrant prophylaxis.

“This online resource will help dentists, doctors and other health professionals to explain the changes to patients, especially those who may be anxious about how the changes will affect them,” NPS Executive Manager of Quality Use of Medicines Programs, Karen Kaye, said.

The Australian Dental Association, Therapeutic Guidelines and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand have endorsed the patient information leaflet.

Health professionals can download the patient leaflet free of charge from the NPS website:

www.nps.org.au/health_professionals/patient_resources/patient_leaflets

ENDS

For further advice health professionals can also call the Therapeutic Advice and Information Service (TAIS) – a medicines information service staffed by specialist drug information pharmacists – on 1300 138 677 Monday to Friday 9am-7pm Eastern Standard Time for the lost cost of a local call (mobiles may cost more).

The National Prescribing Service Limited (NPS) is an independent, non-profit organisation for Quality Use of Medicines funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.