Oncology pharmacy staffing survey across practice settings in the United States.

Purpose: This study was developed to provide a resource for staffing model metrics for oncology pharmacies at healthcare organizations.

Methods: The Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Practice Outcomes and Professional Benchmarking Committee (POPBC) Oncology Pharmacy Staffing Model Task Force designed and distributed a survey to collect baseline data and staffing metrics for oncology pharmacies. The survey was first tested by four POPBC volunteers.

Parental anxiety in food allergy: using a cognitive behavioural therapy approach to guide early intervention.

Food allergy is a common allergic disease and often coexists with other allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema. Parents of children and young people with food allergy commonly experience stress and anxiety and this can significantly affect their child's mental health. Interventions that incorporate approaches from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce stress and anxiety in parents of children and young people with food allergy and support healthy adjustment and psychological well-being in their children.

Triazole antifungal use for prophylaxis and treatment of invasive fungal diseases for patients receiving gilteritinib.

Gilteritinib is primarily metabolized via cytochrome P450 (CYP). Therefore, concomitant administration of strong CYP3A4 inducers or inhibitors is not recommended. We evaluated the incidence of gilteritinib-related adverse events (AEs) in 47 patients who received gilteritinib with or without antifungal triazoles which are known inhibitors of CYP3A4.

Cytomegalovirus events in high-risk allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplantation patients who received letermovir prophylaxis.

Letermovir is approved for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation and clinical disease in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplantation (HCT). However, there is uncertainty about letermovir's ability to prevent clinical events during the period of prophylaxis as well as after the discontinuation of prophylaxis in the post-transplant setting. We performed a retrospective cohort study in CMV-seropositive allogeneic HCT recipients at high risk of CMV events, who received letermovir for primary prophylaxis from November 2017 through December 2019.

Short-Term Surgical Missions: Role of Pharmacist Volunteers.

Health care professionals often participate in short-term surgical missions in underserved areas of the world. Surgical missions often rely on the use of medications to provide health care to these underserved areas in patients with multiple comorbid conditions. The direct role a pharmacist may have in surgical missions is not well described in the literature; however, numerous opportunities exist for pharmacist involvement to improve patient care and operational processes throughout medication planning and delivery of surgical missions.

Rate of differentiation syndrome in patients based on timing of initial all-trans retinoic acid administration.

All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) is the standard of care for the management of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), but can be associated with differentiation syndrome (DS). Over a seven-year period, we sought to determine the impact of ATRA initiation time on the development of DS. ATRA administration time had no impact on DS occurrence ( = =0.

Evaluating the adverse effects of melphalan formulations.

Introduction: For multiple myeloma patients who respond to primary therapy, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is considered standard of care with high-dose melphalan for transplant candidates. There are now two different melphalan formulations available, including a propylene glycol containing (PG-MEL) product and a propylene glycol-free (PG-free MEL) product. Although considered bioequivalent, there remains limited literature directly evaluating the adverse events between the two agents.

Single 6-mg dose of rasburicase: The experience in a large academic medical center.

Background: Tumor lysis syndrome is an oncologic emergency due to the release of tumor cell contents, leading to metabolic derangements. Rasburicase, a recombinant urate oxidase, catabolizes uric acid. At our institution, we administer a single 6-mg dose of rasburicase to patients who are at risk for tumor lysis syndrome.

Low efficacy and high mortality associated with clofarabine treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Clofarabine, a second-generation nucleoside analog, has clinical activity in relapsed or refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). However, there are few data evaluating performance of clofarabine in populations of patients not enrolled in clinical trials. We reviewed outcomes for 84 patients treated with clofarabine for relapsed or refractory AML or MDS, either with clofarabine as monotherapy (n=19) or in combination with cytarabine (n=65).

An assessment of risk factors associated with ifosfamide-induced encephalopathy in a large academic cancer center.

Purpose: Ifosfamide-induced encephalopathy is a neurotoxic adverse effect of ifosfamide chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of encephalopathy in patients with lymphoma and sarcoma receiving ifosfamide chemotherapy and assess for potential risk factors that influence the incidence of encephalopathy.

Methods: A retrospective study of sarcoma and lymphoma patients receiving ifosfamide chemotherapy was performed at the participating institutions.

Denosumab in hypercalcemia of malignancy: a case series.

Background: Denosumab is a nuclear factor-kappa ligand monoclonal antibody whose FDA-approved indications include treatment of osteoporosis, bone loss with certain anticancer hormonal agents, and prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. In clinical trials, the incidence of severe hypocalcemia has been reported as 3.1-10.

Acquired brain injury services in the Republic of Ireland: experiences and perceptions of families and professionals.

Primary Objective: This study aimed to highlight the experiences and perceptions of rehabilitation services among families of people with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and among professionals working in ABI rehabilitation services in Ireland.

Research Design: A qualitative, exploratory study used focus groups to gather data. Data were analysed through a system of qualitative content analysis.

Predictive factors for all-trans retinoic acid-related differentiation syndrome in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) used for the treatment of APL can lead to the development of differentiation syndrome (DS), a potentially life threatening complication. Since ATRA is metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, we sought to identify drug interactions that might be associated with a higher risk for the development of DS in addition to other predictive factors related to the incidence of DS. We identified 60 consecutive patients with APL treated at our institution with ATRA from May 2004 until January 2010.

Refrigeration is not necessary for measurement of uric acid in patients treated with rasburicase.

Background: Rasburicase, used for hyperuricemia of tumor lysis syndrome, retains activity at room temperature (RT) in in vitro studies. Cold-temperature handling is recommended for uric acid measurements in patients receiving rasburicase: collection in prechilled tubes, transportation on ice, and 4°C centrifugation. We performed a prospective study of these requirements.

Comparison of healthcare resource use between patients receiving ondansetron or palonosetron as prophylaxis for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Objective: To analyze the differences between ondansetron and palonosetron in healthcare resource use (i.e., inpatient/ outpatient encounters) among patients receiving intraperitoneal cisplatin.

Evaluation of caspofungin or micafungin as empiric antifungal therapy in adult patients with persistent febrile neutropenia: a retrospective, observational, sequential cohort analysis.

Background: Caspofungin is approved in the United States for empiric antifungal therapy for persistent febrile neutropenia (FN). There are limited data about the use of other echinocandins in this setting.

Objective: After a formulary change, we retrospectively evaluated the safety and effectiveness of caspofungin and micafungin as empiric antifungal therapy for FN at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts).

Palifermin: role in the prevention of chemotherapy- and radiation-induced mucositis.

Objective: To assess the efficacy, toxicity, and potential cost benefit of palifermin in the prevention of chemotherapy- and radiation-induced mucositis.

Data Sources: MEDLINE and PubMed database searches were conducted (1966-May 2006) using the following search terms: palifermin, human keratinocyte growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, mucositis, and stomatitis.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: All published clinical trials and abstracts examining the use of palifermin, as well as information from the manufacturer, were included.

Single-dose rasburicase 6 mg in the management of tumor lysis syndrome in adults.

Rasburicase is currently approved at a dosage of 0.15-0.2 mg/kg once/day for 5 days in pediatric patients with cancer to lower plasma uric acid concentrations and manage tumor lysis syndrome (TLS).

The MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with depressive episodes in patients from Northern Ireland.

Low plasma folate and its derivatives have been linked with depressive disorders in studies dating back over 30 years. A thermolabile variant (677C>T) of the enzyme 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is associated with low serum folate. The present study aimed to explore whether the thermolabile variant of MTHFR is associated with a vulnerability to depressive episodes.

Folic acid: neurochemistry, metabolism and relationship to depression.

The associations of folic acid and its derivatives with depressive disorder are reviewed. Derivatives of folic acid such as biopterins and the synthesis of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) are known either to be associated with improvement or to have a direct therapeutic effect in depressive disorder. Studies investigating plasma and red cell folic acid levels in depressed patients have used differing assay methodologies which make comparison difficult, although there is substantial evidence of the association between depressive disorder (particularly severe depression) and low folic acid levels.