A longitudinal exploration of perceptions of pharmacy practice preparedness among graduating pharmacy students and preceptors.

Graduating student pharmacists who are practice-ready is an essential responsibility of pharmacy programs and heavily emphasized by Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education (ACPE), pharmacy education's accrediting body. Although several studies have examined students' readiness to engage in advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE), few studies examine graduating students' readiness to practice. The objective of this study was to examine national trends in graduating pharmacy students' and preceptors' perceptions of students' pharmacy practice preparedness across a six-year time frame (2016-2021) and trends in graduating students' overall impressions of their program and the pharmacy profession across the same time period.

Cytomegalovirus Treatment in Solid Organ Transplantation: An Update on Current Approaches.

Objective: The article reviews the safety and efficacy of treatments for cytomegalovirus (CMV) in solid organ transplantation.

Data Sources: A literature review was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE, and Clinicaltrials.gov from database inception through January 2024, using terms CMV, therapy, and solid organ transplantation.

Review of Objective Structured Clinical Examination Practices Within Pharmacy Programs Throughout the United States.

Objective: To update the description of current objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) practices within pharmacy schools in the United States and identify barriers to OSCE implementation and expansion.

Methods: A survey was deployed to all accredited Doctor of Pharmacy programs within the United States. The survey was designed to collect information regarding the curricular mapping of OSCEs, OSCE design, OSCE delivery, assessment of OSCE performance, and barriers to OSCE implementation and expansion.

Perceptions and Utility of Course Evaluations in US Pharmacy Schools.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the purpose, implementation, and perceived utility of course evaluations in pharmacy programs.

Methods: After a literature review, a 34-item survey was developed, pretested, and sent to assessment administrators at accredited pharmacy programs (N = 139) with at least 3 follow-ups. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed in IBM SPSS Statistics software.

Racial, Ethnic, and Sex Diversity Trends in Health Professions Programs From Applicants to Graduates.

Importance: Diversity is an essential element of an effective health care system. A key to developing a diverse workforce is establishing a diverse student population in health professions programs.

Objective: To examine the diversity of students in Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs with emphasis on the trends of underrepresented minoritized groups (American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) and sex relative to the overall age-adjusted US population.

A critique of validity analysis from instruments assessing the affective domain.

Background: Schools and colleges of pharmacy need to show evidence that their students have internalized professional values, and many choose to do so through quantitative instruments. A review of the literature was completed to identify the evidence of validity of the scores from instruments designed to assess pharmacy students in the affective domain.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched to identify instruments.

Improvement of Immunosuppressive Medication Adherence Using a SystemCHANGE Intervention: Case Study of an Older Adult Kidney Transplant Recipient.

This article reports a case study of an older adult kidney transplant recipient with poor medication adherence enrolled in an innovative six-month SystemCHANGE intervention that seeks to systematically improve medication adherence by identifying and shaping routines, involving others in routines, and using medication-taking feedback through small, patient-led experiments. Medication adherence increased immediately and was sustained throughout the intervention and maintenance phases. This is the first case study to demonstrate effectiveness of the SystemCHANGE intervention for promoting medication adherence in a kidney transplant recipient.

Pharmacists' guide to the management of organ donors after brain death.

Purpose: This article reviews organ donor pathophysiology as it relates to medication use with the goal of maximizing the successful procurement and transplantation of donor organs.

Summary: The number of patients requiring organ transplantation continues to grow, yet organ donation rates remain flat, making it critical to appropriately manage each organ donor in order to ensure viability of all transplantable organs. The care given to one organ donor is tantamount to the care of several transplant recipients.

A Comparison of Histamine Receptor Antagonists Versus Proton Pump Inhibitor Gastrointestinal Ulcer Prophylaxis in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Introduction: There are several different agents that can be used for gastrointestinal (GI) ulcer prophylaxis in posttransplant recipients, such as histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RA) or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).

Research Question: This study was conducted to compare the incidence of adverse kidney events in transplant recipients who received prophylaxis with H2RAs or PPIs.

Design: This retrospective study included all kidney transplant recipients from 3 transplant centers who were transplanted in 2009 through 2011.

Belatacept for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients: an evidence-based review of its place in therapy.

Background: Belatacept is a novel immunosuppressive therapy designed to improve clinical outcomes associated with kidney transplant recipients while minimizing use of calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs).

Methods: We searched for clinical trials related to administration of belatacept to kidney transplant patients compared to various immunosuppression regimens, as well as for studies that utilized data from belatacept trials to validate new surrogate measures. The purpose of this review is to consolidate the published evidence of belatacept's effectiveness and safety in renal transplant recipients to better elucidate its place in clinical practice.

Treatment of antibody-mediated rejection in renal transplant patients: a clinical practice survey.

Introduction: Preferences for the testing and treatment of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in renal transplant patients vary among programs and individual practitioners. The description of these preferences and identification of commonalities can contribute to creating a standard of care.

Methods: A survey was distributed through the Transplant Listserv of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and via email to members of the American Society of Transplantation Community of Pharmacy (AST CoP), collected, and analyzed.

Hidden sources of grapefruit in beverages: potential interactions with immunosuppressant medications.

Purpose: The interaction between grapefruit-containing beverages and immunosuppressants is not well defined in the literature. This study was conducted to investigate possible sources of grapefruit juice or grapefruit extract in common US-manufactured beverages. The goal was to identify those products that might serve as hidden sources of dietary grapefruit intake, increasing a transplant patient's risk for drug interactions.

Novel immunosuppressive agents in kidney transplantation.

Excellent outcomes have been achieved in the field of renal transplantation. A significant reduction in acute rejection has been attained at many renal transplant centers using contemporary immunosuppressive, consisting of an induction agent, a calcineurin inhibitor, an antiproliferative agent plus or minus a corticosteroid. Despite improvements with these regimens, chronic allograft injury and adverse events still persist.

Impact of participation on a solid organ transplant team on student pharmacists' perceptions of interprofessional roles.

Objective: To examine student pharmacists' perceptions of interprofessional roles before and after completing an advanced pharmacy practice experience on solid organ transplantation.

Methods: Student pharmacists across the United States participating in an APPE on a solid organ transplant team completed an online pre- and post-APPE survey instrument examining perceptions of interprofessional roles, communication, and teamwork.

Results: Student pharmacists' scores on interprofessionalism increased significantly on 17 of 22 items.

Admission variables predictive of academic struggle in a PharmD program.

Objective. To characterize and describe admission variables predictive of poor grade attainment by students in 2 pathways to a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program.Methods.

Selection of induction therapy in kidney transplantation.

Currently available immunosuppressive agents can be classified into three categories: induction agents, maintenance therapy, and treatment for rejection. This review article will focus on induction immunosuppression. There are three antibodies which are used for induction therapy: the lymphocyte-depleting agents - anti-thymocyte globulin and alemtuzumab, and basiliximab which is nondepleting.

Current state of renal transplant immunosuppression: Present and future.

For kidney transplant recipients, immunosuppression commonly consists of combination treatment with a calcineurin inhibitor, an antiproliferative agent and a corticosteroid. Many medical centers use a sequential immunosuppression regimen where an induction agent, either an anti-thymocyte globulin or interleukin-2 receptor antibody, is given at the time of transplantation to prevent early acute rejection which is then followed by a triple immunosuppressive maintenance regimen. Very low rejection rates have been achieved at many transplant centers using combinations of these agents in a variety of protocols.

Influence of pill burden and drug cost on renal function after transplantation.

Study Objective: To determine the influence of pill burden and drug cost on outcomes after renal transplantation.

Design: Retrospective medical record review.

Setting: Kidney and pancreas transplantation center.

Inhibitory interactions between BK and JC virus among kidney transplant recipients.

BK and JC polyomaviruses can reactivate after transplantation, causing renal dysfunction and graft loss. The incidence of JC reactivation after renal transplant is not well understood. Here, we characterized JC reactivation using samples collected during the first year after transplantation from 200 kidney recipients.

The influence of bortezomib on donor specific antibody reduction in patients with antibody mediated rejection.

Renal allograft biopsy is the gold standard for monitoring and diagnosing antibody mediated rejection (AMR), yet a biopsy is invasive, expensive, and may result in complications. Monitoring antibodies may aid in diagnosing and monitoring AMR, although many questions remain unanswered regarding the clinical utility of antibody monitoring. The purpose of this review is to examine the influence of bortezomib on reduction of donor specific antibody after AMR in renal transplant recipients.

Thymoglobulin induction dosing strategies in a low-risk kidney transplant population: three or four days?

The optimal dose and duration of rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) induction has not been defined. Methods. We compared the safety and efficacy of 2 dosing strategies, rATG 1.

Bortezomib as rescue therapy for antibody mediated rejection: a single-center experience.

Case series have reported the use of bortezomib for treatment of primary and refractory treatment of cell-mediated acute rejection. The purpose of this article is to review a single-center experience with bortezomib used to treat humoral rejection in four transplant recipients. All patients received bortezomib after suffering antibody-mediated rejection refractory to intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis.

Serum sickness after treatment with rabbit antithymocyte globulin in kidney transplant recipients with previous rabbit exposure.

Serum sickness after rabbit antithymocyte globulin administration has a reported incidence of 7% to 27% in kidney transplant recipients. We describe 4 patients with previous exposure to rabbits who developed serum sickness after primary rabbit antithymocyte globulin induction. All patients presented with jaw pain.

Rabbit antithymocyte globulin is more beneficial in standard kidney than in extended donor recipients.

Background: In a randomized, international study comparing rabbit antithymocyte globulin (TMG) and basiliximab (BAS) induction in renal transplant recipients at risk for delayed graft function or acute rejection (n=278), TMG was associated with less acute rejection at 1 year.

Methods: This study analyzed outcomes stratified by standard criteria donor (SCD), extended criteria donor (ECD), and hypertensive donor. Data-capture limitations necessitated defining ECD as donor age more than 60 years or 50 to 60 years with hypertension and renal insufficiency.

Bortezomib for acute humoral rejection in two repeat transplant recipients.

Case series have reported the use of bortezomib to remove antibodies in live-donor transplant recipients with HLA alloantibodies and to treat antibody and cell-mediated acute rejection. The purpose of this article is to review a single-center experience with bortezomib used to treat humoral rejection in two sensitized, repeat transplant recipients. Both patients received bortezomib after suffering antibody-mediated rejection refractory to intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis.