Obesity is now a major public health concern worldwide with increasing prevalence and a growing list of comorbidities and complications. The morbidity, mortality and reduced productivity associated with obesity and its complications result in a major burden to health care costs. Obesity is a complex chronic medical syndrome often with multiple different etiologic factors in individual patients. The long term successful management of obesity remains particularly challenging and invariably requires a multifaceted approach including lifestyle and behavioral modification, increased physical activity, and adjunctive pharmacotherapy. Bariatric surgery remains a last resort though at present it has the best results for achieving sustained robust weight loss. Obesity pharmacotherapy has been very limited in its role for long term obesity management because of the past history of several failed agents as well as the fact that presently available agents are few, and generally utilized as monotherapy. The recent FDA approval of the fixed drug combination of phentermine and extended release topiramate (topiramate-ER) (trade name Qsymia™) marks the first FDA approved combination pharmacotherapeutic agent for obesity since the Phen-Fen combination of the 1990s. This review details the history and clinical trial basis for the use of both phentermine and topiramate in obesity therapeutics as well as the results of clinical trials of their combination for obesity treatment in humans. The initial clinical approval trials offer evidence that this fixed drug combination offers synergistic potential for effective, robust and sustained weight loss with mean weight loss of at least 10% of baseline achieved and sustained for up to 2 years in over 50% of subjects treated. It is anticipated that this agent will be the first in a new trend of multi-agent combination therapy for the chronic adjunctive management of obesity.

A multidisciplinary approach to weight loss is necessary to manage obesity. Medications are important in the management strategy, and pharmacists can enhance the care provided. This paper focuses on the integration of a clinical pharmacist into a multidisciplinary team at a weight management clinic serving medically indigent patients in New Orleans.

Purpose We used data from two public health surveillance systems for national estimates and detailed descriptions of insulin mix‐up errors resulting in emergency department (ED) visits and other serious adverse events to help inform prevention efforts. Methods ED visits involving patients seeking care for insulin medication errors collected by the NEISS‐CADES project in 2012–2017 and voluntary reports of serious insulin medication errors submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016–2017 were analyzed. National estimates of insulin product prescriptions dispensed from retail pharmacies were obtained from IQVIA National Prescription Audit. Results Between 2012 and 2017, based on 514 NEISS‐CADES cases, there were an estimated 5636 (95% CI, 4143‐7128) ED visits annually for insulin mix‐up errors; overall, over three‐quarters (77.5%; 95% CI, 71.6%–83.3%) involved taking rapid‐acting instead of long‐acting insulin. Between 2012 and 2017, the proportion of mix‐up errors among all estimated ED visits for all insulin errors decreased by 60%; concurrently, the proportion of pens among all insulin package types dispensed increased by 50%. Among 58 voluntary reports submitted to FAERS, over one‐half (56.9%) of cases involved taking rapid‐ instead of long‐acting insulin. Among 27 cases with documented contributing factors, approximately one‐half involved patients having difficulty differentiating products. Conclusions Among all ED visits for insulin errors collected by NEISS‐CADES in 2012–2017, the proportion involving mix‐up errors has declined. Continued reductions may require additional prevention strategies, including improving insulin distinctiveness, particularly for rapid‐ vs long‐acting insulins. Ongoing national surveillance is important for identifying the impact of interventions.

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