Drug safety alerts, valproate safety (again) and a new contraceptive POP

In this podcast recorded in early March, James Cave (Editor-in-Chief) and David Phizackerley (Deputy Editor) talk about the April 2024 issue of DTB. They discuss the editorial that questions whether drug safety alerts are effective in changing practice and whether more needs to be done to implement safety recommendations (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/62/4/50). They review the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's latest risk minimisation measures for using valproate, which include a guide for healthcare professionals, a guide for patients, an annual risk acknowledgement form and an information card for patients (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/62/4/53). The main article considers the evidence for a new progestogen only pill containing drospirenone (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/62/4/55). They begin by discussing recent concerns over neuropsychiatric reactions associated with montelukast. Please subscribe to the DTB podcast to get episodes automatically downloaded to your mobile device and computer. Also, please consider leaving us a review or a comment on the DTB Podcast iTunes podcast page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dtb-podcast/id307773309). If you want to contact us please email [e-mail]. Thank you for listening.