Subscribers to the guidelines are able to use these search facilities to explore more than 600 drug monographs

Other clinical enquiries

How often do you update the website?

General updates are posted on the website weekly. Urgent updates are made more quickly. Approximately five pages a week are updated.

Why aren't newer medicines always included?

Unfortunately, as there is not much experience with newer medicines, there may be no reports of whether these products can be given outside their product license. Sometimes the manufacturers can provide information, but often they are only able to advise against giving the medicine “off-license”.

Why do you advise de-ionised water?

There are a small number of medicines in the guidelines for which we recommend the use of de-ionised water. This is done where there is information suggesting that the active ingredient may be affected by the ions in tap water, reducing absorption. Although this risk may be small, the NEWT Guidelines Advisory Board has reviewed the specific monographs where it is recommended and determined that the effective administration of the drugs involved is important, and therefore the use of de-ionised water in order to avoid the risk of treatment failure is worthwhile.

Why are some of the references so old?

Much of the information in the guidelines - particularly that relating to enteral feeding tubes - is based on anecdotal reports. Therefore sometimes the best information is that which has been around the longest. When a tablet has been crushed in many centres for years with no reports of any negative effects, the information is actually more reliable than a paper only published this year. However when new information is published which supersedes the old, the guidance is of course updated.

You may also find our Frequently Asked Questions helpful. If not, please email us at newt.guidelines@wales.nhs.uk.

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Every reasonable attempt has been made to ensure that the information on this site is accurate and up to date. Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board (East) does not authorise or take responsibility for any off-license use of medication, which should only be done with prescriber agreement.
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