Therapeutic failure reported with HIV long-acting injectables: An analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System from 2021 to 2024.

Objectives: We examined adverse event (AE) reports relating to cabotegravir/rilpivirine (CAB/RPV) in the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), focusing on therapeutic failure (TF) and non-therapeutic failure (NTF) outcomes.

Methods: FAERS is a database of AE and medication error reports from post-marketing surveillance. The study was granted exempt approval by the Binghamton University Institutional Review Board.

Dynamic Changes in the Distribution of Hydrocodone and Oxycodone in Florida from 2006 to 2021.

Background: Florida, which led the country in terms of its number of opioid-prescribing physicians, was unique during the height of the opioid epidemic because of its lax prescribing laws and high number of unregulated pain clinics. Here, we address differences in the distribution rates of oxycodone and hydrocodone across Florida counties during the peak years of the opioid epidemic using an under-utilized database.

Methods: The Washington Post and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration's Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) databases provided longitudinal oxycodone and hydrocodone distribution data in grams per county (2006-2014) and state (2006-2021).

Utilization of Lower-Dose Cyclobenzaprine in the Older Inpatient.

In older inpatients, anticholinergic medications can increase the risk of complications that may increase length of stay (LOS). Cyclobenzaprine is an anticholinergic medication associated with mental status changes, falls, and injuries in older patients. The purpose of this study is to determine whether use of a lower cyclobenzaprine dose (5 mg) compared with higher dosing (10 mg) will affect LOS, 30-day readmission rates, and need for injectable psychotropic agents in inpatients 65 years of age and older.

Retrospective study investigating naloxone prescribing and cost in US Medicaid and Medicare patients.

Background: Opioid overdoses in the USA have increased to unprecedented levels. Administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone can prevent overdoses.

Objective: This study was conducted to reveal the pharmacoepidemiologic patterns in naloxone prescribing to Medicaid patients from 2018 to 2021 as well as Medicare in 2019.

Rising cases of drug-induced pulmonary fibrosis: Analysis of the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database, 2000-2022.

Purpose: Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a severe, progressive disease, which may be caused by exposure to certain medications.

Methods: We queried the U.S.

State-level variation in distribution of oxycodone and opioid-related deaths from 2000 to 2021: an ecological study of ARCOS and CDC WONDER data in the USA.

Objectives: This study aims to characterise oxycodone's distribution and opioid-related overdoses in the USA by state from 2000 to 2021.

Design: This is an observational study.

Setting: More than 80 000 Americans died of an opioid overdose in 2021 as the USA continues to struggle with an opioid crisis.

Declining but Pronounced State-Level Disparities in Prescription Opioid Distribution in the United States.

The United States (US) opioid epidemic is a persistent and pervasive public health emergency that claims the lives of over 80,000 Americans per year as of 2021. There have been sustained efforts to reverse this crisis over the past decade, including a number of measures designed to decrease the use of prescription opioids for the treatment of pain. This study analyzed the changes in federal production quotas for prescription opioids and the distribution of prescription opioids for pain and identified state-level differences between 2010 and 2019.

Dynamic changes in methadone utilisation for opioid use disorder treatment: a retrospective observational study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major public health concern in the USA, resulting in high rates of overdose and other negative outcomes. Methadone, an OUD treatment, has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of overdose and improving overall health and quality of life. This study analysed the distribution of methadone for the treatment of OUD across the USA over the past decade and through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pronounced State-Level Disparities in Medicaid Prescribing of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (2019-2020).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze buprenorphine prescribing across states in Medicaid patients during 2019-2020.

Method: Buprenorphine prescriptions per Medicaid enrollee per state were calculated for 2019 and 2020. Data analysis was conducted with buprenorphine formulations that are approved by the U.

An analysis of patterns of distribution of buprenorphine in the United States using ARCOS, Medicaid, and Medicare databases.

Opioid overdose remains a problem in the United States despite pharmacotherapies, such as buprenorphine, in the treatment of opioid use disorder. This study characterized changes in buprenorphine use. Using the Drug Enforcement Administration's ARCOS, Medicaid, and Medicare claims databases, patterns in buprenorphine usage in the United States from 2018 to 2020 were analyzed by examining percentage changes in total grams distributed and changes in grams per 100 K people in year-to-year usage based on ZIP code and state levels.

Pronounced State-Level Disparities in Prescription of Cannabinoids to Medicaid Patients.

Introduction: Dronabinol is approved in the USA for chemotherapy-induced nausea as well as vomiting and HIV-induced anorexia, while cannabidiol is primarily approved for childhood epileptic disorders Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndrome. The use pattern for these prescription cannabinoids in the USA is unknown. This study examined Medicaid claims for two FDA-approved prescription cannabinoids, dronabinol and cannabidiol, approved in 1985 and 2018, respectively, from 2016-2020 to better understand the pharmacoepidemiologic trends and distribution of these drugs in US Medicaid amidst the increasing use of non-pharmaceutical formulations of cannabis.

High Prescribing and State-Level Variation in Z-Drug Use Among Medicare Patients.

Background: Z-drugs are nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics used for sleep initiation and maintenance; these drugs increase the risk of fall-related injuries in older adults. The American Geriatrics Society's Beers criteria classifies Z-drugs as high-risk and strongly recommends avoiding prescribing Z-drugs to older adults due to adverse effects. The study objectives were to determine the prevalence of Z-drug prescribing among Medicare Part D patients and identify state or specialty-dependent prescribing differences.

An Analysis of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone Distribution Trends in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Between 2006 and 2014.

Objective Opioid medications are widely recognized for their use in analgesia and their addictive properties that have led to the opioid epidemic. Areas with historically high prescribing patterns have been shown to suffer more from the crisis. There is also regional variability in these trends.

Variation in adverse drug events of opioids in the United States.

The United States (US) ranks high, nationally, in opioid consumption. The ongoing increase in the misuse and mortality amid the opioid epidemic has been contributing to its rising cost. The worsening health and economic impact of opioid use disorder in the US warrants further attention.

Reductions and pronounced regional differences in morphine distribution in the United States.

Objectives: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to describe the temporal pattern of morphine distribution nationally and between states.

Methods: Drug weight was obtained from Report 5 of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) to characterize patterns in the distribution of morphine from 2012 to 2021. Morphine distribution amounts were separated by state and business type and corrected for population.

Death and Disability Reported with Cases of Vaccine Anaphylaxis Stratified by Administration Setting: An Analysis of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System from 2017 to 2022.

The serious nature of post-vaccination anaphylaxis requires healthcare professionals to be adequately trained to respond to these hypersensitivity emergencies. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes reported with cases of vaccine anaphylaxis stratified by administration setting. We queried reports in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database from 2017 to 2022 and identified cases involving anaphylaxis with an onset within one day of vaccine administration.

Examination of methadone involved overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The US opioid overdose epidemic continues to escalate. The restrictions on methadone availability including take-home dosing were loosened during the COVID-19 pandemic although there have been concerns about the high street value of diverted methadone. This report examined how fatal overdoses involving methadone have changed over the past two-decades including during the pandemic.

Pronounced Declines in Meperidine in the US: Is the End Imminent?

Background: Once a widely used analgesic in the United States (US), meperidine offered an alternative opioid to other opioids as a pain reliever and was widely assumed to be safer with acute pancreatitis. However, within the last two decades meperidine, has gone from a frequently used drug to being used only when patients exhibit atypical reactions to opioids (e.g.

Occurrence of Z-drugs, benzodiazepines, and ketamine in wastewater in the United States and Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Z-drugs, benzodiazepines and ketamine are classes of psychotropic drugs prescribed for treating anxiety, sleep disorders and depression with known side effects including an elevated risk of addiction and substance misuse. These drugs have a strong potential for misuse, which has escalated over the years and was hypothesized here to have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) constitutes a fast, easy, and relatively inexpensive approach to epidemiological surveys for understanding the incidence and frequency of uses of these drugs.

Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technician Attitudes and Experiences with Technician-Administered Immunizations.

In response to the increased demand for healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act amendments and guidance authorized pharmacy technicians, who are not otherwise authorized in their state, to administer the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)-recommended immunizations and COVID-19 vaccines under pharmacist order. Subsequently, many pharmacies nationwide have expanded technician duties to include immunization administration. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the attitudes and experiences associated with technician-administered immunizations among community pharmacists and technicians.

Avoidance of drug interactions with hepatitis C treatment: Evaluation of pharmacist interventions in the specialty setting.

Objectives: Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy is currently recommended for most patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases/Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines. DAAs have significant drug interaction potential, which can lead to treatment failure and adverse drug events. The primary goal of this study is to report the number and nature of interventions made by pharmacists regarding drug interactions in patients using DAA therapy and to estimate the cost avoidance of averting potential DAA treatment failures.

Examination of multiple drug arrests reported to the Maine Diversion Alert Program.

Purpose: Much of the responsibility for the increasing drug overdoses in the US has been attributed to opioids but most opioid overdoses also involve another drug. The objective of this study was to identify the drugs involved in polysubstance arrests. The substances that were more likely to be found in conjunction with other substances, using the drug arrests reported to Maine's Diversion Alert Program (DAP) were examined.