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The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7190 p385-391
23 March 2002

Related websites
BNF (www.bnf.org)

New BNF to be published next week

The 43rd edition of the British National Formulary is to be published next week and distributed by the United Kingdom health departments to National Health Service hospitals, general practitioners and community pharmacies.

Significant changes have been made to the section on vaccines, reflecting recent Government advice. There is new information on extending meningococcal C vaccination to young adults, on pneumococcal vaccination for children under two years and on changes to the schedule for immunisation against pertussis.

Among other major changes is a revision of the notes in Section 10.2.1 on the use of drugs used in the management of myasthenia gravis, including anticholinesterases, corticosteroids and immunosuppressants.

In the light of recent reports, the warning in Section 4.7.1 about the association between Reye’s syndrome and the use of aspirin in children has been extended to include advice that aspirin should be avoided in all teenagers during feverish illness.

Following the deliberate release of the anthrax organism in the United States, BNF 43 contains advice on the management of anthrax and gives licensed and unlicensed doses of antibacterials used for the infection (Section 5.1.12).

The new edition also summarises guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on the use of interferon beta and glatiramer in multiple sclerosis (Section 8.2.4). The UK health departments’ statement on the use of these drugs is also included.

Publication has been delayed slightly by the work involved in developing a powerful, highly structured database of the BNF to improve the dissection, storage and retrieval of the information that goes into producing the BNF. Although this restructuring does not affect the appearance of the book, it will enhance the presentation of information to users of the electronic versions of the BNF over the coming months.

The Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association continues to welcome the receipt of recently outdated editions of the BNF for redistribution to developing countries of the Commonwealth, where they are much in demand.

Copies of BNF 42 can be sent to Betty Falconbridge, Administrative Manager, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association, 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN.

Alternatively, community pharmacists can keep their copies safely until the annual PharmAid Week in November, when a collection of recently outdated BNFs and Martindales will be made through pharmaceutical wholesalers