Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
December 2023
Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
January 2023
Background: Outpatient antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is managed by a variety of teams, but primarily through an infectious disease clinic. At our medical center, OPAT monitoring is performed telephonically by pharmacists through a collaborative practice agreement under the supervision of an infectious disease physician. The effect of telephonic monitoring of OPAT by pharmacists on patient outcomes is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Food and Drug Administration-approved daptomycin dosing uses actual body weight, despite limited dosing information for obese patients. Studies report alterations in daptomycin pharmacokinetics and creatine phosphokinase elevations associated with higher weight-based doses required for obese patients. Limited information regarding clinical outcomes with alternative daptomycin dosing strategies in obesity exists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActive learning is an important component of pharmacy education. By engaging students in the learning process, they are better able to apply the knowledge they gain. This paper describes evidence supporting the use of active-learning strategies in pharmacy education and also offers strategies for implementing active learning in pharmacy curricula in the classroom and during pharmacy practice experiences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvidence supports the use of aggressive therapy for patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Clinical outcomes in patients with early RA can improve with a treat-to-target approach that sets the goal at disease remission. The current selection of antirheumatic therapies, including conventional and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), has made disease remission a realistic target for patients with early RA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 2007 Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Accreditation Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy delineate new expectations for experiential education within curricula and include guidance on the development and conduct of Pharmacy Practice Experiences. The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Educational Affairs Subcommittee C developed a position statement to further delineate the views of ACCP on factors necessary to meet contemporary standards for doctoral education in pharmacy and to provide guidance to our membership on how to implement the new standards. This White Paper provides explanation and supporting documentation for positions on quantitative and qualitative aspects of experiential education, as well as requirements for practice sites, preceptor roles, qualification, credentialing, and development and assessment of student performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother
February 2007
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are extensively used worldwide. However, associated adverse gastrointestinal effects (NSAID gastropathy) such as bleeding, perforation and obstruction result in considerable morbidity, mortality, and expense. Although it is essential to employ gastroprotective strategies to minimize these complications in patients at risk, controversy remains on whether celecoxib alone or a non-selective NSAID in conjunction with a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) is a superior choice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This article reviews the mechanisms of action, safety, and efficacy of the nonbiologic, or traditional, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), particularly methotrexate, sulfasalazine, leflunomide, and hydroxychloroquine. It also addresses various aspects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinical trials that warrant careful interpretation, including response criteria, outcomes measurements, study designs, and results of combination therapy trials.
Summary: The considerable progress in the treatment of RA over the past 20 years is due in large part to a better understanding of how to use DMARDs optimally and the introduction of biologic agents.