Special Edition 2021

Editorial Doing one’s job TOP TEXTS OF 2021 SPECIAL EDITION How we work Prescrire’s rigorous, collective editorial process has been fine-tuned over the years NEW PRODUCTS

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Ebola vaccine rVSV-Zebov( ervebo °) in an outbreak of Ebola virus disease Major reduction in incidence among those at risk for this often-fatal infection Fexinidazole ( fexinidazole winthrop °) and sleeping sickness caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Effective and more convenient than injectable treatments Polatuzumab vedotin ( polivy °) and large B-cell lymphoma Remdesivir ( veklury °) and covid-19 Too many uncertainties over its efficacy as well as its harms Authorisation of remdesivir in the European Union: EMA needs to prioritise patients’ interests Dasatinib in children ( sprycel ° and other brands ) with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Failure to demand solid evidence for marketing authorisation spells danger for patients ADVERSE EFFECTS VEGF inhibitors : arterial aneurysm and dissection Apixaban, edoxaban, rivaroxaban: situations with a high risk of bleeding or thrombosis Liposomal forms of drugs: now specified in the brand name, but no improvement to the INN REVIEWS Medical cannabis in chronic pain An option for some types of pain, while awaiting further evaluation Hydrochlorothiazide in hypertension An acceptable first choice OUTLOOK Towards better patient care: drugs to avoid in 2021 Drugs in 2020: a brief review Drug shortages : a (big) thorn in the side of pharmacists Towards transparency in the research costs of new drugs

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Prescrire’s reviews, written by specially trained health professionals, are based on an exhaustive search of the literature, and undergo scrutiny by a large panel of outside reviewers plus rigorous quality-control procedures.

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Editors free from conflicts of interest The absence of any direct or indirect financial links to the pharmaceutical industry is an absolute requirement to be a member of the Prescrire team. Any such link would be cause for dismissal from the Prescrire Editorial Staff. A vast network of reviewers Once they are in an advanced stage of editing and quality control, all draft reviews are sent to outside reviewers (10 to 40 reviewers read each draft at this stage). These reviewers critique each article in terms of content, style, relevance, newsworthiness, presenta- tion of arguments and usefulness in daily practice. The reviewers are spe- cialists in the subject being discussed, methodologists, or healthcare profes- sionals representative of Prescrire’s readers (and chosen from their midst).

All the reviews published in La Revue Prescrire (aside from a few clearly labelled exceptions, such as readers’ letters) are written by Prescrire’s Edi- torial Staff. Prescrire does not publish unsolicited manuscripts from outside contributors. The production of reviews draws upon a wide range of skills, all exer- cised under the supervision of Prescrire’s editors. This team approach is reflected in the collective byline “©Prescrire”. Written and edited by healthcare professionals Most of Prescrire’s editors are physicians (both in individual prac- tice or on hospital staff), pharma- cists (working in pharmacies or hos- pitals), nurses and dentists. A few are economists or journalists with specific expertise in the area of health- care. All Prescrire editors have received extensive in-house training in Prescrire’s editorial production process.

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P rescrire I nternational S pecial E dition 2021 • P age 1