Berdazimer 10.3% gel (Zelsuvmi – Ligand), a first-in-class nitric oxide-releasing agent, has been approved by the FDA for topical treatment of molluscum contagiosum in patients ≥1 year old. It is the second drug to become available in the US for treatment of molluscum contagiosum and the first that can be applied by the patient or caregiver at home; cantharidin 0.7% solution (Ycanth), which is applied by a healthcare professional, was approved earlier for use in patients ≥2 years old.1
MOLLUSCUM CONTAGIOSUM ― A skin infection caused by...
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RELEASE
The FDA is requiring a new warning in the prescription and over-the-counter labels of the oral second-generation H1-antihistamines cetirizine (Zyrtec, and others) and levocetirizine (Xyzal, and others) about the risk of severe pruritus following discontinuation of treatment.1
Cases reported to the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System were rare (209 worldwide reports over >6 years), but many of them described severe pruritus requiring medical intervention that occurred within a few days of stopping cetirizine or levocetirizine. Most cases occurred after more than 3 months of daily use, but some occurred after less than one month. The mechanism of the effect is unknown.
Restarting the antihistamine improved pruritus symptoms in most patients; subsequently tapering off the drug resolved symptoms in some of these patients.
Whether switching to another antihistamine, such as …