Rationalising blood tests, bempedoic acid and CV outcomes and semaglutide for obesity

In this podcast, James Cave (Editor-in-Chief) and David Phizackerley (Deputy Editor) talk about the December 2023 issue of DTB. They discuss monitoring drugs in primary care and the need to rationalise the number of blood tests undertaken (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/12/178). They talk about a study that reported the effect of bempedoic acid on a composite cardiovascular outcome (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/12/180). The main article is a review of semaglutide as an option for weight management and discusses the evidence for its use and some of the hype that has surrounded the its launch (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/61/12/182). They begin by responding to a listener's complaint about terminology.   Related link: Aronson JK. When I use a word . . . Medicines regulation—apothecaries, quacks, chemists, druggists, pharmacists. BMJ 2023;383:p2603. https://www.bmj.com/content/383/bmj.p2603    Please subscribe to the DTB podcast to get episodes automatically downloaded to your mobile device and computer. Also, please consider leaving us a review or a comment on the DTB Podcast iTunes podcast page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dtb-podcast/id307773309). If you want to contact us please email [email protected]. Thank you for listening.