Guide to the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS)

The CPS contains information on proprietary and nonproprietary products. Products are listed alphabetically by brand name. The CPS consists of several color-coded sections, making it easier to locate the section of interest. Each section focuses on a different area and the information and tables contained are well laid out and concise. The following is an overview of the various sections based on the 2003 edition of the CPS.

This section is divided into two sections.

• "The New and Revised Product Monographs" table contains information on new and revised product monographs that manufacturers have submitted since the release of the last edition.
  
• "Discontinued Products" table lists products that have been discontinued since the publication of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 editions as these products are no longer available on the market.
  

Brand and Generic Name Index (Green Section)

This section of the CPS is an alphabetical listing of brand names and generic names of medication that are cross-referenced.

• Names in italics are generic names,
• Names in bold face and underlined indicate the availability of a detailed monograph,
• Names in bold face but not underlined indicate the availability of a shortened monograph.

The therapeutic categories and medications used in specific classes are listed alphabetically. Within the Therapeutic Category, drugs are further classified by therapeutic, pharmacological or chemical subheadings. All drugs are listed by their generic name. To find the corresponding brand name, refer to the Green Section of the CPS.

When searching for a therapeutic category, check first in the therapeutic guide index at the beginning of the pink section to identify how the specific category is identified. This will facilitate your search of the appropriate category.

This section is useful when searching for alternates to medications used in a specific therapeutic category. For example, if searching for an alternative product to timolol ophthalmic drops you would do the following:

• Go to the index of the therapeutic guide (pink pages) to locate eye preparations or ophthalmic preparations. You will note from the index that products are all located under the heading of ophthalmologicals.
• Next, go to the section under the head of ophthalmologicals and look under the sub-heading of Glaucoma Therapy, Ophthalmic Preparations. Under this subheading you will find another heading, Beta-blocking Agents where you will find three products listed (betaxolol, levobunolol and timolol).

This section contains colour pictures of products including tablets, capsules and liquids.

This section is further divided into three sections:

• Poison Control Centres which provides contact information for Poison Control Centres across Canada, arranged alphabeticaaly by province/territory.
• Health Organizations which provides contact information for various health organizations that provide information for health professionals and/or consumers. The organizations are listed alphabetically by disease state or subject.
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturers/Distributors which provides contact information of manufacturers and Canadian distributors of pharmaceutical preparations listed in the CPS.

Following are highlights of some of the important Clin-Info sections.

• Body surface nomograms for adults and children

• Laboratory reference intervals
• Serum drug concentration monitoring
• Creatinine clearance formula
• Recommendations for serum drug concentration monitoring
• Conversion factors for serum drug concentrations

• Management of occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens
• Drug exposure during lactation
• Drug exposure during pregnancy
• Drugs in dentistry
• Bacterial endocarditis prevention
• Perioperative management of medications
• Routine immunization schedules for adults and infants and children

• Drugs and older individuals
• Hypertension prevention and control
• Malaria prevention

• Cytochrome P450 drug interactions
• Drug administration and food
• Drug administration and grapefruit juice

• Dietary supplementation
• Dietary reference intakes

• Ethanol content of pharmaceuticals
• Gluten-containing pharmaceuticals
• Gluten-free drug manufacturers
• Lactose-containing pharmaceuticals
• Latex allergy and parenteral products
• Sulfite-containing pharmaceuticals
• Tartrazine-containing pharmaceuticals
• Tartrazine-free drug manufacturers

This section contains detailed "Information for the Patient" monographs of various drugs for health professionals to use in keeping their patients informed. This practical information guide is well laid out, in language that is easy to understand.

Monographs (White section)

As pharmacists, this section is the one that is used most frequently. Each monograph is broken down into standard sections, which include the following:

Pharmacology
Indications
Contraindications
Warnings
Precautions
Drug Interactions
Adverse Effects
Overdose
Dosage
Information for the Patient
Supplied