The measure of impact: Proposal of quality metrics for solid organ transplant pharmacy practice.

As healthcare continues its transition toward value-based care, it is increasingly important for transplant pharmacists to demonstrate their impact on patient care, health-related outcomes, and healthcare costs. Evidence-based quality and performance metrics are recognized as crucial tools for measuring the value of service. Yet, there is a lack of well-developed and agreed-upon specific metrics for many clinical pharmacy specialties, including solid organ transplantation.

Relational closeness- not parasociality- determines the intensity of grief responses to celebrity death.

This study interrogates the common assumption that parasocial grief, or grief for celebrities, is always less intense than grief for people in social relationships. An online 2 (Parasocial or Social) × 2 (Close or Distant) experiment with participants recruited on MTurk ( = 271) examined differences in people's anticipated grief responses after imagining the hypothetical death of either a celebrity or a person in their social network, who they considered to be either close or a more distant acquaintance. The results revealed that closeness, but unexpectedly not parasociality, affected people's imagined grief.

Normative Influence of the Stars: The Relative Indirect Effects of Celebrity Exemplars on Vaping Norm Perceptions Through Liking, Parasocial Relationship Strength, and Wishful Identification.

Although the influence of celebrities on public health-related attitudes and behaviors is well established, the specific role that celebrity examples play in shaping health-related social norm perceptions is not well understood. To examine the effect of celebrities on social norm perceptions, young adults were randomly assigned to read news articles about vaping that either featured one of four film stars using a vape pen or did not contain any celebrity exemplar. The presence or absence of a celebrity exemplar did not affect readers' perceptions of vaping social norms.

Single-cell molecular profiling using ex vivo functional readouts fuels precision oncology in glioblastoma.

Background: Functional profiling of freshly isolated glioblastoma (GBM) cells is being evaluated as a next-generation method for precision oncology. While promising, its success largely depends on the method to evaluate treatment activity which requires sufficient resolution and specificity.

Methods: Here, we describe the 'precision oncology by single-cell profiling using ex vivo readouts of functionality' (PROSPERO) assay to evaluate the intrinsic susceptibility of high-grade brain tumor cells to respond to therapy.

The expanded role of the transplant pharmacist: A 10-year follow-up.

The role of the transplant pharmacist is recognized by transplant programs, governmental groups, and professional organizations as an essential part of the transplant multidisciplinary team. This role has evolved drastically over the last decade with the advent of major advances in the science of transplantation and the growth of the field, which necessitate expanded pharmacy services to meet the needs of patients. Data now exist within all realms of the phases of care for a transplant recipient regarding the utility and benefit of a solid organ transplant (SOT) pharmacist.

ALK Amplification and Rearrangements Are Recurrent Targetable Events in Congenital and Adult Glioblastoma.

Purpose: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) aberrations have been identified in pediatric-type infant gliomas, but their occurrence across age groups, functional effects, and treatment response has not been broadly established.

Experimental Design: We performed a comprehensive analysis of ALK expression and genomic aberrations in both newly generated and retrospective data from 371 glioblastomas (156 adult, 205 infant/pediatric, and 10 congenital) with in vitro and in vivo validation of aberrations.

Results: ALK aberrations at the protein or genomic level were detected in 12% of gliomas (45/371) in a wide age range (0-80 years).

The cascade of care in testing and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in liver transplant candidates.

Background: Testing and treatment for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) can mitigate risk of active tuberculosis (TB) post-liver transplant (LT). Testing and treatment completion rates have been reported low in this population. Our study aims to quantify the proportion of LT candidates who completed LTBI care cascade in our center.

Genomic and biological study of fusion genes as resistance mechanisms to EGFR inhibitors.

The clinical significance of gene fusions detected by DNA-based next generation sequencing remains unclear as resistance mechanisms to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer. By studying EGFR inhibitor-resistant patients treated with a combination of an EGFR inhibitor and a drug targeting the putative resistance-causing fusion oncogene, we identify patients who benefit and those who do not from this treatment approach. Through evaluation including RNA-seq of potential drug resistance-imparting fusion oncogenes in 504 patients with EGFR mutant lung cancer, we identify only a minority of them as functional, potentially capable of imparting EGFR inhibitor resistance.

Overall Infectious Complications Related to Belatacept Conversion in Comparison to Tacrolimus in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Belatacept has demonstrated effectiveness for preventing rejection in kidney transplant and has a favorable side effect profile. Studies assessing long-term infectious complications with belatacept compared to tacrolimus are limited. The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine the proportion of patients who developed an infection when converted to belatacept compared to those on tacrolimus.

Evaluating Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Older Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Objectives: Beers Criteria and the Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions (STOPP) Criteria/Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment Criteria are used to assess potentially inappropriate prescribing and medications, which could pose a harm to those of older age. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the use of Beers and STOPP Criteria in older kidney transplant recipients.

Methods: This was a dual-center, retrospective chart review from May 1, 2014, to March 1, 2018, including kidney transplant recipients 65 years and older.

Pharmacist-Managed Diabetes Programs: Improving Treatment Adherence and Patient Outcomes.

The health and economic burden of diabetes mellitus across the United States and the world is such that effective care is crucial to improving outcomes, including macro and microvascular complications, and lowering health care costs. Pharmacists are well placed within communities to provide the critical care necessary for patients with diabetes and have a unique skillset that has demonstrated clear benefits in clinical and non-clinical outcomes. Here, we will provide a narrative review of the literature including the role of the pharmacist in different care models, outcomes associated with pharmacist care, and future directions and opportunities for pharmacist-managed diabetes.

Evaluating clinical effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in solid organ transplant recipients: A propensity score matched analysis.

Background: Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are at disproportionate risk for severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccination is a key preventative strategy but is associated with decreased humoral responses among SOTR. Whether dampened immune responses correlate with reduced clinical effectiveness is unclear.

Real-world experience with available, outpatient COVID-19 therapies in solid organ transplant recipients during the omicron surge.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to place a substantial burden on healthcare systems. Outpatient therapies for mild-to-moderate disease have reduced hospitalizations and deaths in clinical trials, but the real-world effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies and oral antiviral agents in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is largely uncharacterized. We conducted a single-center, retrospective review of 122 SOTR diagnosed with COVID-19 in the outpatient setting during the Omicron surge to address this knowledge gap.

Pediatric data from the research program: demonstration of pediatric obesity over time.

Objective: To describe and demonstrate use of pediatric data collected by the Research Program.

Materials And Methods: participant physical measurements and electronic health record (EHR) data were analyzed including investigation of trends in childhood obesity and correlation with adult body mass index (BMI).

Results: We identified 19 729 participants with legacy pediatric EHR data including diagnoses, prescriptions, visits, procedures, and measurements gathered since 1980.

Microenvironment drives cell state, plasticity, and drug response in pancreatic cancer.

Prognostically relevant RNA expression states exist in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but our understanding of their drivers, stability, and relationship to therapeutic response is limited. To examine these attributes systematically, we profiled metastatic biopsies and matched organoid models at single-cell resolution. In vivo, we identify a new intermediate PDAC transcriptional cell state and uncover distinct site- and state-specific tumor microenvironments (TMEs).

heterozygosity and replication stress drive esophageal cancer development in a mouse model.

germline mutations are associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Recent findings of others suggest that mutation carriers also bear an increased risk of esophageal and gastric cancer. Here, we employ a mouse model to show that unresolved replication stress (RS) in heterozygous cells drives esophageal tumorigenesis in a model of the human equivalent.

Genetic and Epidemiologic Analyses of an Outbreak of Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia Among Kidney Transplant Recipients in the United States.

Background: Pneumocystis jirovecii is an opportunistic fungus that causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised hosts. Over an 11-month period, we observed a rise in cases of PCP among kidney-transplant recipients (KTR), prompting an outbreak investigation.

Methods: Clinical and epidemiologic data were collected for KTR diagnosed with PCP between July 2019 and May 2020.