How Debate Could Facilitate Group Function in Pharmacy Schools.

To study how a debate format could be a helpful tool to enhance group functionality and decision-making in schools of pharmacy. This study examines the potential of a debate format to facilitate discussion and shift viewpoints. Changes in viewpoint and feedback from the Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP) Cohort 16 debates at the February 2020 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Interim Meeting generated two data sets for each discussion topic to analyze debate effectiveness.

Documentation of medical marijuana use in cancer patients.

Purpose: Medical marijuana is often used as adjuvant therapy in cancer patients for symptom management, although limited evidence-based studies evaluating its efficacy or safety exist. Similar to over-the-counter medications, supplements, or herbal products, documentation of medical marijuana is important to monitor efficacy, potential adverse effects, or interactions. The objective of this quality improvement study was to improve the consistency of medical marijuana documentation in cancer patients by assessing current practices; educating healthcare team members about the importance of documentation and newly established documentation process; and evaluating the new documentation process.

Impact of a pharmacist-led oral chemotherapy-monitoring program in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Background: With the introduction of oral chemotherapy, the paradigm for cancer treatment is shifting. Use of oral chemotherapy agents offers a non-invasive option for patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. However, these medications are not without challenges including strict adherence for optimal effects, novel toxicity profiles, frequent lab parameter monitoring, high cost, and proper handling and disposal methods.

Current Practices in the Treatment of Alzheimer Disease: Where is the Evidence After the Phase III Trials?

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to review the current place in therapy of the 4 medications, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine, approved for the treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD) since the publication of Phase III trials.

Methods: A systematic literature search of MEDLINE and EMBASE was conducted for articles published in the past 10 years. The search was performed using the following Medical Subject Headings and text key words: Alzheimer's disease, treatment, donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine, memantine, dementia of the Alzheimer's type, and dementia.

Benefit-risk assessment of pitavastatin for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia in older patients.

With the practice-shifting changes made with the most recent guidelines for treating blood cholesterol, more older patients may be prescribed statin therapy. Therefore, it is imperative that practitioners have not only a working knowledge of information related to statins, but more specifically to their efficacy and safety in elderly populations. Pitavastatin is the most recent statin to receive regulatory approval.

Effects of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors represent a new class of antihyperglycemic agents that block renal sodium and glucose reabsorption and may reduce blood pressure (BP). We assessed the BP lowering ability of these agents using meta-analytic techniques. PubMed, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central were searched through October 2013.

Celecoxib-associated anaphylaxis.

Objective: To report and discuss a case of anaphylaxis in a young, healthy white male taking celecoxib for intermittent lower back pain.

Case Summary: A healthy 27-year-old man with a documented history of anaphylaxis to penicillins and macrolides presented to the emergency department (ED) in anaphylactic shock after ingesting a 200-mg capsule of celecoxib and a cup of orange juice. The patient had been taking celecoxib over the past 6 months, for 1-2 weeks at a time, for low back pain secondary to a pilonidal cyst and an L5/S1 bulging disc.

Oral oxymorphone for pain management.

Objective: To describe the pharmacology, safety and efficacy, and rationale for use of oral oxymorphone for the management of acute and chronic moderate-to-severe pain.

Data Sources: A PubMed/MEDLINE search (1966-March 2007) was conducted using the following terms: oral oxymorphone, oxymorphone, EN 3202, EN 3203, Opana, and Opana ER. Manufacturer-provided data (package inserts) and abstracts presented at the American Pain Society meetings (2003-2006) were also reviewed.