Happy New Year, sad news from Australia, toxocarosis in humans and yet more on valproate safety

In this podcast, James Cave (Editor-in-Chief) and David Phizackerley (Deputy Editor) talk about the January 2023 issue of DTB. They begin with another reminder of the concerns over the use of sodium valproate. They talk about the closure of NPS MedicineWise in Australia and the uncertainty over the future of Australian Prescriber - https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/1/2. They highlight the risk of eye problems with dupilumab - https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/1/6 (see more links below) and the challenge of making sure that primary care clinical systems record drugs prescribed by specialists. They discuss toxocarosis in humans and the risk of environmental contamination from parasiticides used for deworming cats and dogs (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/1/3 and https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/1/7). Dupilumab links: 1. Reji MA, Haque A, Goyal S, et al. Dupilumab-induced ocular surface disease: a primer. BMJ Case Reports CP 2022;15:e249019. https://casereports.bmj.com/content/15/4/e249019 2. Nahum Y, Mimouni M, Livny E, et al. Dupilumab-induced ocular surface disease (DIOSD) in patients with atopic dermatitis: clinical presentation, risk factors for development and outcomes of treatment with tacrolimus ointment. British Journal of Ophthalmology 2020;104:776-9. https://bjo.bmj.com/content/104/6/776 The contact address for the DTB team is [e-mail].

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