Myocarditis and pericarditis in young patients following Campylobacter jejuni enterocolitis infection: a systematic review of case studies.

Background: Campylobacter is known to be the leading cause of foodborne illness. Campylobacter jejuni, specifically, most commonly causes self-limiting enterocolitis, but infection can lead to extraintestinal manifestations, including rare yet severe cardiac complications, such as myocarditis and/or pericarditis. This review aims to determine whether a relationship exists between the timing of a positive stool culture and the overall clinical course in patients with Campylobacter jejuni-associated myocarditis and/or pericarditis.

Medical student use of practice questions in their studies: a qualitative study.

Practice questions are highly sought out for use as a study tool among medical students in undergraduate medical education. At the same time, it remains unknown how medical students use and incorporate practice questions and their rationales into their studies. To explore this heavily relied upon study strategy, semi-structured interviews were conducted with second-year medical students to assess how they approach using practice questions.

The efficacy of purified pollen extract for reducing vasomotor symptoms in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Importance: Menopause impacts the quality of life for women, with symptoms varying from hot flashes to night disturbances. When menopausal hormonal therapy is contraindicated or women refuse menopausal hormonal therapy, many consider alternatives such as pollen extract for treating vasomotor symptoms.

Objective: This meta-analysis focuses on the impact of using purified pollen extract as a treatment option to reduce vasomotor symptoms in women, specifically focusing on symptoms such as hot flashes, night disturbances, myalgias, and depression.

The Impact of a Handheld Ultrasound Device in a Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening Program in Ethiopia.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects 33 million people in low and middle income countries and is the leading cause of cardiovascular death among children and young adults. Penicillin prophylaxis prevents progression in asymptomatic disease. Efforts to expand echocardiographic screening are focusing on simplified protocols, non-physician ultrasonographers, and portable ultrasound devices, including handheld ultrasound.

Mpox (Formally Known as Monkeypox).

This article reviews Mpox, including its epidemiology, transmission, clinical presentation, diagnosis, prevention, and management and treatment of the virus. This article also investigates the current outbreak of Mpox in nonendemic countries, including the United States. It discusses the high prevalence of Mpox affecting the men who have sex with men community.

What is the analgesic ceiling dose of ketorolac for treating acute pain in the ED?

Recent research has suggested that ketorolac has an analgesic ceiling effect, meaning that despite increased dosages, the patient obtains no additional pain relief and is more likely to suffer adverse drug reactions. This article describes the outcomes of these studies and the recommendation to use the lowest possible dose for the shortest time when treating patients with acute pain.

Initial steps for integrating academic electronic health records into clinical curricula of physical and occupational therapy in the United States: a survey-based observational study.

Training programs must be designed to prepare physical and occupational therapy students to use electronic health records (EHRs) and interprofessional collaboration. This report aims to describe physical and occupational therapy students’ perceptions of integrating an academic EHR (AEHR) in their problem-based learning (PBL) curricula in the College of Health Professions, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut, the United States. A paper-based case approach to PBL was adapted by creating patient cases in an AEHR.

Efficacy of subcutaneous semaglutide compared to placebo for weight loss in obese, non-diabetic adults: a systematic review & meta-analysis.

Background: Research on semaglutide's effect on weight loss has been largely focused on Type 2 Diabetics. No meta-analyses of semaglutide's efficacy in non-diabetic individuals have been conducted to date. Expanding the knowledge of semaglutide's outcome in non-diabetics may provide impactful changes at the clinical level.

Non-antipsychotic pharmacotherapy of psychogenic polydipsia: A systematic review.

Objective: Polydipsia is defined at the intake of excessive fluid (>3 L daily). Psychogenic polydipsia (PPD) presents without an identifiable medical cause and is often seen in patients with diagnoses of schizophrenia, OCD, anxiety, alcohol use disorder, and other psychotic disorders. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the therapeutic effect of various non-antipsychotic medications on patients with a stable psychotic illness and concurrent PPD.

Establishing the Content Validity of a Student Pharmacist Patient Counseling Competency Assessment in Oncology.

The goal of this project was to establish content validity and describe internal consistency of a patient counseling competency assessment instrument used to evaluate student pharmacists practicing in an oncology setting. The study involved a modified e-Delphi panel of oncology clinical pharmacy specialists, clinical pharmacy generalists, and oncology pharmacy residents. Iterative rounds of the e-Delphi process were conducted until consensus was reached on most instrument items.

Folate as adjunct therapy to SSRI/SNRI for major depressive disorder: Systematic review & meta-analysis.

Objective: Evaluate depression scores, response, and remission rates in patients with major depression receiving adjunct therapy with folate (L-Methylfolate or folic acid) compared to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSRI or SNRI) monotherapy.

Methods: Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medline with Full Text, PsychInfo, PubMed, ClinicalTrials.org, and Google Scholar were searched utilizing specific key words.

Remimazolam: A Novel Option for Procedural Sedation in High Risk Patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this drug review was to explore the safety and efficacy of the newly approved benzodiazepine, remimazolam, in order to evaluate its place in therapy.

Summary: Remimazolam has a faster onset of action and recovery time than midazolam when given as single IV doses. Additionally, it has no known CYP450 interactions that would contribute to drug-drug interactions.

Duloxetine for the reduction of opioid use in elective orthopedic surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background Duloxetine is currently approved for chronic pain management; however, despite some evidence, its utility in acute, postoperative pain remains unclear Aim of the review This systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine if duloxetine 60 mg given perioperatively, is safe and effective at reducing postoperative opioid consumption and reported pain following elective orthopedic surgery. Method CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane Central Registry for Clinical Trials, Google Scholar, and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched using a predetermined search strategy from inception to January 15, 2019.

Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Postoperative Pain, Pulmonary Function, and Opioid Consumption Following Cardiothoracic Procedures: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a minimally invasive method for treating pain. In the most recent review published in 2012, TENS was associated with increased pain relief following cardiothoracic surgery when compared to standard multimodal analgesia. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine if adding TENS to current pain management practices decreases pain and analgesic use and improves pulmonary function for postcardiothoracic surgery patients.

Problem-Based Learning and Case Scenarios: An Interprofessional Pharmacology Experience.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is a required component of the nursing curriculum as it can foster students' abilities to become integral members of the health care team. To facilitate this requirement, an IPE experience focusing on cardiovascular pharmacology was created for nurse practitioner and physician assistant students. The authors developed and utilized a problem-based learning activity and two minicase scenarios.

Examining the Relationship Between Biometric Indicators and Pharmacy Students' Academic Performance.

To use a fitness tracking device to track student wellness habits, specifically number of steps, activity, and sleep duration, in an attempt to identify relationships between these variables and academic performance outcomes such as examination scores and course grades. A fitness tracker was issued to second professional year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students to track their daily number of steps, activity levels, and minutes of sleep. Individual data from these devices were collected using a cloud-based data aggregation platform.

Elderly Bleeding Risk of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

Introduction: The 2014 American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) guidelines recommend anticoagulation to reduce clot formation and the risk of thromboembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation but does not specify guidelines for the elderly population. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are newer US FDA-approved alternatives to warfarin and include dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban. The efficacy of DOACs is heavily researched, but few studies have evaluated their bleeding risk.

Gamifying the memorization of brand/generic drug names.

Background And Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine how the implementation of Quizlet, an electronic flashcard/quiz/gaming platform, affected the doctor of pharmacy candidate's ability to successfully complete quizzes based on brand and generic names of the most commonly used medications.

Educational Activity And Setting: Brand name, generic name, and class of Top 300 Prescription Medications were uploaded into the program in four different study sets. Students were encouraged to utilize the provided games to prepare for quizzes.

What is the role of cannabidiol in refractory epilepsy?

The FDA recently approved the first cannabidiol oral medication to treat refractory epilepsy in patients with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. This article describes the safety and efficacy of cannabidiol treatment in patients with refractory epilepsy.

Development of valid and reliable tools for student evaluation of teaching.

Introduction: The objective of this project was to develop valid and reliable course and instructor student evaluation tools (SETs) of teaching for utilization by a college of pharmacy.

Methods: A collection of 119 course and instructor evaluation items was compiled from a review of the primary literature and grouped into six different themes (subscales): organization, communication, motivation, rapport, fairness, and learning. Input was sought from the college of pharmacy faculty to reduce the list of items to a more manageable pilot tool (27 for course evaluations; 29 for instructor evaluations) for developing pilot SETs.

Integration of transgender care into a pharmacy therapeutics curriculum.

Background And Purpose: To examine the impact of a lecture on transgender health given during a special populations therapeutics course on third-year (P3) pharmacy students' knowledge and confidence of transgender care.

Educational Activity And Setting: A two-hour lecture that included both cultural sensitivity and pharmacotherapy aspects of care for transgender individuals was added to a required two-credit therapeutics series offered at the end of the P3 year of a doctor of pharmacy curriculum. Following the lecture, students completed a 17-item knowledge-based survey and ranked their confidence with each answer on a 5-point scale.

Specialization within pharmacy education: A survey of curricular track or concentration offerings.

Introduction: The purpose of this national survey was to determine what constitutes a curricular track or concentration within colleges and schools of pharmacy. Additionally, for programs not currently offering curricular tracks or concentrations, this survey sought to identify barriers to implementation.

Methods: A survey instrument was developed and piloted.

Student pharmacists provide tobacco use prevention education to elementary school children: A pilot experience.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe a service learning experience involving tobacco prevention education and to measure the education's effect on the learners' knowledge of tobacco products.

Educational Activity And Setting: Student pharmacists planned and presented a 40-min tobacco prevention education program using the Tar Wars curriculum to fourth and fifth grade students at three suburban elementary schools in Western Massachusetts. Mean scores on a five-question assessment given to school age children before and after the presentation were compared.