Development and Assessment of Targeted, Live, and Interactive Continuing Pharmacy Education Workshops in Dementia Care for North Dakota Pharmacists.

With the growing US aging population, need for a health care workforce able to provide dementia care will increase. To develop, deliver, and assess interactive live workshops for licensed North Dakota pharmacists in dementia care. Prospective interventional study of impact of free-of-charge, interactive, five-hour workshops for pharmacists providing advanced training in Alzheimer's disease, vascular and Parkinson's disease dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and common reversible causes of cognitive impairment.

Treatment Approach and Modalities for Management of Depression in Older People.

Depression is common in older people, and while the approach to treatment is similar to a younger population, there are several additional treatment considerations to make based on comorbidities and cognitive impairment. Evidence-based psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and problem-solving therapy are recommended for mild-moderate depression in older people; however, the efficacy of these are limited in very old patients (older than 75 years of age) and those with cognitive impairment. Additionally, neuromodulation treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation could prove beneficial for specific older people with depression.

Pharmacists' Utilization of Information Sources Related to Community and Population Needs in the Upper Midwest and Associations with Continuing Professional Education.

Background: To investigate information sources utilized in pharmacists' assessment of population-based health needs and/or community changes; and the association between information sources utilized and reported completion of continuing professional education topics.

Methods: In 2017; licensed pharmacists (n = 1124) in North Dakota; South Dakota; Minnesota; Iowa; and Nebraska completed a questionnaire on continuing professional education and information sources on population-based health needs and community changes. Data were entered; cleaned and imported into Stata 11.

Basic Disaster Preparedness of Rural Community Pharmacies in 5 States.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the basic preparedness of rural community pharmacies to continue operations during and immediately following a disaster.

Methods: In 2014, we conducted a telephone survey (N = 990) of community pharmacies in 3 rural areas: North Dakota/South Dakota, West Virginia, Southern Oregon/Northern California regarding whether they had a formal disaster/continuity plan, offsite data backup, emergency power generation, and/or had a certified pharmacy immunizer on staff. Logistic regression and chi square were performed using Stata 11.

A PharmD program curricular approach to addressing the opioid crisis.

Background And Purpose: The opioid crisis in the United States is widespread and requires large scale efforts to reduce the problem. A recent call by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy requested commitments by member schools to enact curricular changes in order to prepare pharmacy graduates to be impactful in addressing the opioid crisis.

Educational Activity: A taskforce reviewed existing pain management and opioid-related curricular content in the North Dakota State University School of Pharmacy (NDSU SOP).

Perampanel-induced, new-onset food aversion in a 29-year-old female with medically refractory frontal lobe epilepsy.

Background: Perampanel is a selective, noncompetitive amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid glutamate receptor antagonist indicated for management of partial-onset and primary generalized seizures in epilepsy patients aged ≥12 years.

Patient History: A 29-year-old, white female with significant history of medically refractory frontal lobe epilepsy, status post right frontal and temporal resections, was initiated on perampanel as an add-on therapy to phenytoin extended-release (330 mg/d) and clonazepam (2.5 mg/d).

A Pharmacist-Led Stroke Education and Screening Program for Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

: To deliver a pharmacist-led education and screening for community-dwelling residents, assess the effect of this initiative on knowledge of stroke risk factors and warning signs, and evaluate the stroke-knowledge and risk-assessment questionnaire as a tool to identify stroke-related health status and identify need(s) for specific clinical intervention(s) to decrease risk.
: The 70-minute-long event comprised: brief introduction/informed consent, baseline assessment of stroke knowledge, completion of study questionnaire, single blood pressure and heart rate readings, presentation, question-and-answer session, postsurvey questionnaire items.
: Four faith-based institutions in the Midwest.

Continuing pharmacy education practices in geriatric care among pharmacists in the Upper Midwest.

Objectives: To summarize select continuing pharmacy education (CPE) topics and hours related to geriatric care completed by community, hospital/clinic, and long-term care (LTC)/consultant pharmacists in the previous 12 months, whether pharmacy workplace influenced topic selection or completion, and to describe CPE sources used by community versus hospital/clinic pharmacists.

Design: Cross-sectional survey (2017).

Setting And Participants: Licensed pharmacists in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska with primary practice settings in community pharmacies, hospitals, or clinics or those practicing as consultant pharmacists.

2018 American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Annual Meeting & Exhibition.

Poster abstracts are evaluated based on the following criteria: significance of the problem to healthy aging or medication management; innovativeness of ideas, methods, and/or approach; methodological rigor of methods and approach; presentation of finding; implications identified for future research, practice, and/or policy; and clarity of writing. Submissions are not evaluated through the peer-reviewed process used by . Industry support is indicated, where applicable.

Design, implementation, and evaluation of educational workshop on management of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease patients for third-year pharmacy students.

Background And Purpose: Increasing aging populations in the United States means an increasing number of persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) requiring competent pharmaceutical care. The workshop was designed and implemented to integrate pharmacology and therapeutics in management of PD and AD, and evaluate efficacy of students' high-cognitive thinking, and self-rated knowledge improvement, confidence, and interest in the subject.

Education Activity And Setting: Third-year pharmacy students participated in a three-hour workshop comprised of a foundational knowledge quiz from pathophysiology, pharmacology and therapeutics, performance on high-cognitive thinking in clinical scenarios, and hands-on activities in pharmacology and therapeutics related to PD and AD care.

Role of antidepressants in the treatment of adults with anorexia nervosa.

Introduction: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder that is difficult to treat and is associated with frequent relapses and high mortality rates. Psychiatric symptomatology (eg, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder/behaviors) are common comorbidities. This review provides current information about safety and efficacy of antidepressant therapy for management of AN in adults.

Maintaining Vitality: Pharmacists' Continuing Professional Education Decision-Making in the Upper Midwest.

Continuing professional education (CPE) plays an important role in continuing professional development of pharmacists for providing quality pharmaceutical care but also to maintain professional and organizational vitality and meet changing community/population needs. The study objective was to describe and understand factors of importance in selection of CPE credit hours among Upper Midwest pharmacists. A cross-sectional study of licensed pharmacists ( = 1239) in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota included completion of a questionnaire on demographics and CPE decision-making.

Prediction Accuracy of Winter-Tozer Equations to Estimate Free Phenytoin Concentrations in Non-Critically Ill Hospitalized Patients.

Objective: To assess the accuracy of the standard and revised Winter-Tozer (WT) equations of predicting free phenytoin (PHT) concentrations in non-critically ill, hospitalized patients.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Single-center, large urban community hospital.

Rural Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease-Related Community Pharmacy Care in the United States.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between area population density and community pharmacy-based Alzheimer's Disease (AD)-related services: pharmacists' medication knowledge and counseling, immunizations, and in-stock cognitive enhancers in 3 predominantly rural regions of the United States.

Methods: A standardized interview was administered by telephone to a 100% sample of community pharmacies in 3 areas: Northern California/Southern Oregon (n = 206), North and South Dakota (n = 278), and West Virginia (n = 420). Key study outcomes included: pharmacists' medication knowledge, availability of immunization services, and cognitive enhancers in stock.

Community Pharmacists' Knowledge Regarding Donepezil Averse Effects and Self-Care Recommendations for Insomnia for Persons with AD.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) impacts millions of individuals worldwide. Since no cure is currently available, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are symptomatic therapy. This study assessed community pharmacists' knowledge regarding donepezil adverse effects (AEs) and self-care recommendations for insomnia management for persons with AD treated with rivastigmine.

Population Pharmacokinetic Evaluation and Missed-Dose Simulations for Eslicarbazepine Acetate Monotherapy in Patients With Partial-Onset Seizures.

Given the potential consequences of antiepileptic therapy nonadherence, missed-dose scenarios of 12- to 48-hour dose delays (4-hour intervals) for eslicarbazepine acetate monotherapy were evaluated using simulated plasma concentrations of a population pharmacokinetic model (representing 493 subjects). When 1600-mg doses were delayed 12 to <16 or 36 to <44 hours, simulations showed immediate administration of 1600 mg followed by the same dose at the scheduled time maintained plasma concentrations within the target concentration range. With 16- to 24- or 44- to 48-hour delays, administration of 2400 mg at the scheduled time followed by resumption of 1600 mg/day maintained plasma concentrations within the target concentration range.

Community pharmacists' knowledge of Alzheimer disease care in high- and low-income Chicago.

Objectives: This pilot study examined community pharmacists' knowledge to provide care and services for persons with Alzheimer disease (AD) and area income-based disparities in knowledge and availability of cognitive enhancers.

Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey of pharmacies (n = 137) in high- and low-income areas in Chicago was conducted on pharmacists' degree, experience, and continuing education, as well as knowledge of AD disease and treatment expectations, adverse effects (AEs) of donepezil, and self-care recommendations for insomnia. Pharmacies were selected from highest- and lowest-income zip code areas, defined using household area median incomes from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Collaborating on medication errors in nursing.

Background: Nurse educators are faced with changing roles and expanding responsibilities for medication administration and monitoring in pursuit of improved patient safety. The aims of this study were to develop, implement and evaluate clinical simulation experiences that included, along with nursing faculty members, a pharmacist educator for the teaching of preventable medication errors in undergraduate nursing education.

Methods: Four clinical simulation scenarios using high-fidelity patient simulators were developed focusing on select medication problems in nursing practice.

Introduction to Parkinson disease (PD) and its complications.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder in older adults characterized by motor and nonmotor symptoms and complications. Impulse control disorders (ICDs), such as pathological gambling, compulsive shopping, compulsive sexual behavior (hypersexuality), and binge eating disorder, affect 13.6% of the PD population.

Drug-induced cognitive impairment: Effect of cardiovascular agents.

Introduction: Cardiovascular agents can be associated with a negative effect on cognition, especially in older adults, critically ill people, and those with baseline cognitive impairment. Negative effect on cognition is commonly reported as uncomplicated acute confusion and delirium and, less commonly, chronic cognitive changes due to drug-induced depression and/or dementia.

Methods: A literature review of case reports, case series, prospective cohort studies, clinical trials, and literature reviews were included in this study.

Pharmacokinetic characteristics of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are routinely prescribed for the management of a variety of neurologic and psychiatric conditions, including epilepsy and epilepsy syndromes. Physiologic changes due to aging, pregnancy, nutritional status, drug interactions, and diseases (ie, those involving liver and kidney function) can affect pharmacokinetics of AEDs. This review discusses foundational pharmacokinetic characteristics of AEDs currently available in the United States, including clobazam but excluding the other benzodiazepines.

Electronic surveillance and pharmacist intervention for vulnerable older inpatients on high-risk medication regimens.

Objectives: To develop and evaluate an electronic tool to assist clinical pharmacists with reviewing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in hospitalized elderly adults.

Design: Pilot intervention.

Setting: Academic tertiary care hospital.

The metabotropic glutamate receptor 8 agonist (S)-3,4-DCPG reverses motor deficits in prolonged but not acute models of Parkinson's disease.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlus) are 7 Transmembrane Spanning Receptors (7TMs) that are differentially expressed throughout the brain and modulate synaptic transmission at both excitatory and inhibitory synapses. Recently, mGlus have been implicated as therapeutic targets for many disorders of the central nervous system, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies have shown that nonselective agonists of group III mGlus have antiparkinsonian effects in several animal models of PD, suggesting that these receptors represent promising targets for treating the motor symptoms of PD.

Health literacy and medication understanding among hospitalized adults.

Background: Patients' ability to accurately report their preadmission medications is a vital aspect of medication reconciliation, and may affect subsequent medication adherence and safety. Little is known about predictors of preadmission medication understanding.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation of patients at 2 hospitals using a novel Medication Understanding Questionnaire (MUQ).