Advancing safe drug use through interprofessional learning (IPL): a pilot study.

Interprofessional collaborative patient-centered care (IPCPC) improves healthcare quality and cost. Drug-related morbidity drives healthcare costs, thus requiring IPCPC approaches. The lack of educational preparedness for would-be IPCPC practitioners underlies the failure of historic IPCPC attempts, hence today's emphasis on pre-licensure interprofessional education (IPE).

Dietary supplements and hypertension: potential benefits and precautions.

Dietary supplements (DSs) are used extensively in the general population and many are promoted for the natural treatment and management of hypertension. Patients with hypertension often choose to use these products either in addition to or instead of pharmacologic antihypertensive agents. Because of the frequent use of DS, both consumers and health care providers should be aware of the considerable issues surrounding these products and factors influencing both efficacy and safety.

Rhabdomyolysis associated with the use of a mislabeled "acai berry" dietary supplement.

Introduction: This case report describes a patient who developed rhabdomyolysis temporally associated with the use of a mislabeled acai berry dietary supplement.

Methods And Results: The authors describe a 22-year-old man presenting with rhabdomyolysis approximately 2 weeks after starting a weight-loss dietary supplement. His medical history was significant only for hypertension treated with amlodipine.

Does an education intervention improve physician signature legibility? Pilot study of a prospective chart review.

Illegible physician signatures in patient records can lead to inaccurate documentation, improper billing, and potential legal issues. Many studies in the current literature address legibility of prescriptions and medication orders; however, few focus on legibility of physicians' signatures. The purpose of the present quality improvement survey was to evaluate physician signature legibility on patient charts at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Adult Internal Medicine Clinic.

Bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis following community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection: a case report and review of the literature.

Objectives: We describe a case of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin infection leading to bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST) and subsequent left eye blindness in a previously healthy, immunocompetent woman. A secondary objective is to document all published cases of MRSA induced CST.

Data Source And Study Selection: To identify all relevant publications on MRSA-induced CST in adults.

Current management of salicylate-induced pulmonary edema.

Salicylate-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE) can occur in both acute and chronic users of aspirin or salicylate products. The medical history, especially when it reveals the use of salicylates, is critical when considering this diagnosis. Unfortunately, the neurologic and systemic effects of salicylate toxicity may hinder the ability to obtain a reliable medical history.

How physicians should evaluate dietary supplements.

Dietary supplements occupy a unique niche within the realm of modern medicine. These products are often used by patients at their own discretion, in an unmonitored setting, and without the input of their physicians. Although laws pertaining to dietary supplement labeling prohibit specific claims for the treatment or prevention of disease, these products are widely used as "alternative" or "complementary" therapy.

Mystery in the basement.

56 year-old male presented to the University of Mississippi Medical Center emergency department (ED) with complaints of progressive shortness of breath, productive cough, fever, and malaise. His past medical history was significant for hypertension as well as a 60 pack-year history of smoking. Upon arrival to the ED he had a temperature of 103.

Bioavailability of promethazine in a topical pluronic lecithin organogel: a pilot study.

The purpose of this open-label, nonrandomized, crossover trial was to determine the bioavailability of promethazine formulated in a topical Pluronic lecithin organogel. The study was performed at a tertiary care facility. The study subjects were 15 healthy adult white men aged 21 to 40 years, all of whom met the inclusion criteria.

The natural treatment of hypertension.

The goal of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of commonly available dietary supplements in the treatment of hypertension, using the average blood pressure reduction achieved with the implementation of lifestyle modifications as a standard. For this reason, the authors focus on the antihypertensive potential of these agents rather than pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, adverse effects, or supplement-drug interactions. For the purpose of this review, dietary supplements are defined as exhibiting some evidence of benefit if a systolic blood pressure reduction of 9.

Dietary supplements: important concerns for the clinician.

Review articles, clinical trials and case reports on the usage patterns of dietary supplements are commonly published in medical journals. However, clinicians must acknowledge several limitations and methodological flaws with some of the available literature. The lack of product quality control, the use of combination products, and the paucity of product bioavailability data are known weaknesses of this research.

Clinic at the health food store? Employee recommendations and product analysis.

Study Objectives: To determine what products health food store employees recommend for depression, to analyze the content of these products based on label claims, and to evaluate employee statements or recommendations for accuracy and safety.

Methods: Twelve health food stores were selected for the study. One investigator approached an employee in each store and asked what they recommended for depression plus five additional questions regarding product use.

Assessment of the quality of reference books on botanical dietary supplements.

Objective: To review books on botanical dietary supplements (BDS) targeted to pharmacists and physicians to assess their overall quality as primary and secondary reference books.

Design: We purchased 52 books for initial review based primarily on their titles. After eliminating books not written for health care professionals and books that contained very limited information on BDS, we selected 22 texts to review in depth.

Self-medication with gamma-hydroxybutyrate to reduce alcohol intake.

We describe a 52-year-old man who self-medicated with gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a widely available illicit substance, to obtain a decrease in ethanol consumption. He successfully reduced his ethanol intake over a 3-month period, but he was unable to sustain abstinence. Although case reports on the use of GHB to induce euphoria have been published, this is the first report of GHB self-medication to facilitate ethanol abstinence.