Use of Drug Claims Data and a Medication Risk Score to Assess the Impact of CYP2D6 Drug Interactions among Opioid Users on Healthcare Costs.

Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) activity is highly variable due to several factors, including genetic polymorphisms and drug-drug-gene interactions. Hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and tramadol the most commonly prescribed CYP2D6-activated opioids for pain. However, the co-administration of CYP2D6 interacting drugs can modulate CYP2D6-medicated activation of these opioids, affecting drug analgesia, effectiveness, and safety, and can impact healthcare costs.

Opioids, Polypharmacy, and Drug Interactions: A Technological Paradigm Shift Is Needed to Ameliorate the Ongoing Opioid Epidemic.

Polypharmacy is a common phenomenon among adults using opioids, which may influence the frequency, severity, and complexity of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) experienced. Clinicians must be able to easily identify and resolve DDIs since opioid-related DDIs are common and can be life-threatening. Given that clinicians often rely on technological aids-such as clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and drug interaction software-to identify and resolve DDIs in patients with complex drug regimens, this narrative review provides an appraisal of the performance of existing technologies.

Cost avoidance related to a pharmacist-led pharmacogenomics service for the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly.

Estimate cost avoidance of pharmacist recommendations for participants enrolled in the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. Convenience sample of 200 pharmacogenomics consultations from the PHARM-GENOME-PACE study. Genetic variants, drug-gene interactions, drug-drug-gene interactions and phenoconversions were interrogated.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) Interactions Involving Atypical Antipsychotics are Common in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Treated for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia.

Treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and comorbidities often necessitates the concomitant use of antipsychotics and non-antipsychotic drugs, thereby potentiating the risk for drug-drug interactions (DDIs).The primary objective of our study was to identify potentially clinically relevant cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated DDIs involving antipsychotics among participants enrolled in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) with BPSD. Additionally, we wanted to determine the prevalence of antipsychotic use in this population.

Precision medication: An illustrative case series guiding the clinical application of multi-drug interactions and pharmacogenomics.

Precision medication entails selecting the precise medication, dose, and timing of administration. Multi-drug interactions and genetics significantly affect precision medication. In this article, we present two simulated cases for real-world applications of precision medication.

Prescriber-Initiated Engagement of Pharmacists for Information and Intervention in Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.

Little is known about the types of drug information inquiries (DIIs) prescribers caring for older adults ask pharmacists during routine practice. The objective of this research was to analyze the types of DIIs prescribing clinicians of Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) made to clinical pharmacists during routine patient care. This was a retrospective analysis of documented pharmacists' encounters with PACE prescribers between March through December, 2018.

Malignant Transformation of Nonhealing Ulcer-Basal Cell Carcinoma.

We discuss the rare case of a 72-year-old female with a history of a nonhealing lower extremity ulcer that was biopsied, revealing malignant transformation to basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Although BCC is the most common malignancy worldwide, malignant transformation of nonhealing wounds is more often associated with squamous cell carcinoma. Current literature estimates the rate of BCC arising from venous stasis ulcer to occur between 1.

Medication-related problems encountered in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly: An observational study.

Objective: To evaluate pharmacist-encountered medication-related problems (MRPs) among the participants of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

Design: This was a retrospective analysis of proprietary pharmacy records detailing pharmacist encounters with PACE clinical staff.

Setting And Participants: A national provider of pharmacy services to more than 75 PACE organizations.

Role of Opioid-Involved Drug Interactions in Chronic Pain Management.

The use of opioids for chronic pain management is extraordinarily common despite substantial evidence of only modest benefits, when compared with nonopioid analgesics. Opioid use is also associated with serious risks, including overdose and death. A growing body of evidence suggests that opioids are involved in significant drug interactions that often go unrecognized in clinical practice.

Genetic variants and interactions from a pharmacist-led pharmacogenomics service for PACE.

Evaluate results of pharmacogenomics testing for participants enrolled in the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). A convenience sample of 100 participants from the PHARM-GENOME-PACE study. Genetic variants were determined by pharmacogenomics testing.

A unique surgical emergency: ileosigmoid knotting.

Ileosigmoid knot (ISK) is a rare cause of bowel obstruction that leads to gangrenous bowel necrosis. In this condition, the ileum and sigmoid colon wrap around each other, causing a knot and strangulation of both structures. ISK is extremely rare in North America; most cases are reported in Asia and Africa.

Squamous cell carcinoma of cervix origin with rare metastasis to the colon.

We discuss the rare case of a 47-year-old female with a history of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ of the cervix, who presents with a bowel obstruction secondary to a sigmoid colon mass confirmed to be SCC of cervical origin. SCC is one of the rare malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract, and may occur as either a primary or secondary lesion. Metastasis from the cervix to the gastrointestinal tract is a rare occurrence, and has only been described in a handful of case reports.

Splenic abscess following laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a case report of a rare disease and a review of its management.

Splenic abscess is a rare disease that has several predisposing factors. Case reports have documented post-surgical development of splenic abscesses, most commonly after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. We present the case of a 69-year-old female with gallstone pancreatitis who underwent an uncomplicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Laparoscopy in penetrating abdominal trauma is a safe and effective alternative to laparotomy.

Introduction: Diagnostic laparoscopy (DL) is an increasingly used modality when approaching penetrating abdominal trauma (PAT). Trauma surgeons can utilize this minimally invasive technique to quickly assess for injury in hemodynamically stable patients. DL with a confirmed injury can be repaired through therapeutic laparoscopy (TL) or conversion to exploratory laparotomy (EL).

Non-cutaneous AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma presenting as recurrent rectal abscesses.

Kaposi's sarcoma is a fatal disease that typically presents with cutaneous manifestations in immunocompromised individuals. There are a small number of documented cases where patients diagnosed with this disease present without cutaneous lesions. We present a 35-year-old man with recurrent rectal abscesses and fistula-in-ano, which required multiple drainage procedures.

Implementation of a pharmacist-led pharmacogenomics service for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PHARM-GENOME-PACE).

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of implementing a pharmacist-led pharmacogenomics (PGx) service for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

Setting: A national centralized pharmacy providing PGx services to community-based PACE centers.

Practice Description: Individuals 55 years of age and older enrolled in PACE who underwent PGx testing as part of their medical care (n = 296).

Implementation of a Standardized Medication Therapy Management Plus Approach within Primary Care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to implement a clinical pharmacist-led medication therapy management (MTM) service within a primary-care setting that is enhanced by 1) a clinical decision support system (CDSS) that includes a unique combination of medication risk mitigation factors, which aids the pharmacist in interpreting the medication profile, and 2) pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing.

Methods: This was a service implementation study, whereby Medicare beneficiaries were eligible if they were patients of Elmwood Family Physicians, a private family, primary care practice with 2 locations in New Jersey, and were on at least 7 medications. Patients had a medication reconciliation completed by a pharmacist and performed a PGx buccal swab.

Reducing Off-Label Antipsychotic Use in Older Community-Dwelling Adults With Dementia: A Narrative Review.

The off-label use of antipsychotics for the management of behavioral and psychologic symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in older adults (age ≥65 years) is common, despite evidence of modest benefits and serious risks. Although national initiatives aimed at reducing antipsychotic use among older adults with BPSD in nursing homes have been successful, similar initiatives are lacking for community-dwelling adults with dementia. As a result, older adults with BPSD residing in the community may be at an even greater risk of being negatively affected by antipsychotic use.

Medication Risk Mitigation: Coordinating and Collaborating with Health Care Systems, Universities, and Researchers to Facilitate the Design and Execution of Practice-Based Research.

The high prevalence of inappropriate polypharmacy in geriatric populations is unacceptable. Traditional medication risk mitigation (MRM) strategies have proven to be effective at improving polypharmacy, but these strategies have not consistently translated into positive health outcomes. Enhanced MRM strategies, such as using pharmacogenomics information, are needed, and these strategies need to be tested.