In this episode, we announce the debut of the HelixTalk Drug Superlative Awards -- awards given to medications on the market that are outstanding or notorious. In announcing these completely fictitious awards, we review key clinical pearls and pitfalls that every clinician should be aware of with these medications.

Key Concepts

1. Drug most likely to be remembered for COVID-19 ineffectiveness rather than its actual FDA indication: hydroxychloroquine
2. Commonly used but worst hypertensives on the market: it’s a tie! Atenolol and hydrochlorothiazide.
3. Most confusing dosage forms: valproic acid, valproate sodium, and divalproex -- it’s all the same thing!
4. Most innovative prodrug: valacyclovir
5. Hottest inactive ingredient: it’s a tie! Sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin (SBECD), an excipient in remdesivir, and polyethylene glycol (PEG), an excipient in mRNA vaccines.