Comparative Effectiveness of Vedolizumab vs. Infliximab Induction Therapy in Ulcerative Colitis: Experience of a Real-World Cohort at a Tertiary Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center.

Background: Vedolizumab (VDZ), an adhesion molecule inhibitor and infliximab (IFX), a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker, are both approved as first-line induction agents in moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). However, there are no head-to-head studies comparing the relative effectiveness of the two agents. Here we provide a real-world comparison of these two agents.

Impact of an open enrollment service on costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

Objective: The primary objective was to determine total estimated cost savings based on a patient's current medication regimen after comparing available Medicare Part D plans for the upcoming year by using a plan comparison platform. The secondary objective was to determine patient-centered concerns when considering a change in Part D plans.

Design: Review of an open enrollment service that included a patient survey and a Part D plan comparison.

Pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratios: a state-driven safety and quality decision.

Objective: To discuss the policy of pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratios by comparing Florida as an example of legislative-led authority versus Tennessee as an example of board of pharmacy-led ruling.

Summary: Over the past 2 years, the Florida legislature has debated the issue of pharmacy staffing ratios, initially leaving the Florida Board of Pharmacy with little authority to advocate for and enact safe technician staffing ratios. Anticipating this situation, the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy created rules to meet pharmacy staffing needs while protecting the authority of the pharmacist-in-charge and promoting patient safety.

The visual analog scale in the immediate postoperative period: intrasubject variability and correlation with a numeric scale.

Unlabelled: The visual analog scale (VAS) has been used to assess the efficacy of pain management regimens in patients with acute postoperative pain, but its usefulness has not been confirmed in postoperative pain studies. We studied 60 subjects in the immediate postoperative period. The specific data collected were: VAS scores versus an 11-point numeric pain scale; repeatability in VAS scores over a short time interval; and change in VAS scores from one assessment period to the next versus a verbal report of change in pain.

L-Histidine tetrafluoroborate: a solution-grown semiorganic crystal for nonlinear frequency conversion.

The crystal structure, refractive indices, and phase-matching conditions for a new nonlinear optical material, L-histidine tetrafluoroborate (HFB), are reported. HFB grows readily, displays favorable mechanical characteristics, and has adequate birefringence to permit phase-matched parametric processes over much of its transparency range (250 nm to 1300 nm). The phase-matching loci and angular sensitivity for second-harmonic generation of 1064-nm light in single crystals of HFB were measured.