Alternative Trastuzumab Dosing Schedules Are Associated With Reductions in Health Care Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Purpose: Cancer care-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions harm human health. Many cancer drugs are administered at greater-than-necessary doses, frequencies, and durations. Alternative dosing strategies may enable reductions in cancer care GHG emissions without compromising patient outcomes.

Implementation of Debriefing Services for Pharmacy Residents in a 24-Hour, In-House Clinical Pharmacy On-Call Program: A Pilot Study.

This clinical pharmacy on-call program (CPOP) is a 24-hour, in-house service provided by pharmacy residents. During shifts, challenging situations may arise, which may correlate with depression, anxiety, and stress. This pilot study aims to describe the implementation of a debriefing program and characterize mental health patterns of residents in the CPOP.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic, Social Vulnerability, and Opioid Overdoses in Chicago.

Introduction: This research was undertaken to examine the individual and neighborhood drivers that contributed to increases in opioid overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The incident location and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index (along with the individual indicators) were then geocoded to 1 of the 77 Chicago Community Areas. Changes in opioid overdose death rates were calculated and compared for each Chicago Community Area using linear regression between 2019 and 2020.

Lidocaine and Ketamine Infusions as Adjunctive Pain Management Therapy: A Retrospective Analysis of Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients Admitted for Pain Related to Sickle Cell Disease.

Objective: In this study, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of adjunctive lidocaine and ketamine infusions for opioid reduction in the treatment of sickle cell disease in patients with vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC).

Design: We retrospectively reviewed a cohort of 330 adult sickle-cell crisis hospital encounters with 68 patients admitted to our institution from July 2017 to August 2018.

Methods: Upon institutional IRB approval, we obtained initial data from billing records and performed chart reviews to obtain pain scores and confirm total opioid consumption.

Impact of Ketamine in the Management of Painful Sickle Cell Disease Vaso-Occlusive Crisis.

The aim of the study is to determine if ketamine infusions in combination with opioid therapy for the management of sickle cell disease (SCD) presenting with vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) resulted in a length-of-stay difference compared to when ketamine was not utilized. This single center, retrospective, observational study performed at an academic medical center evaluated 12 adult patients with SCD-VOC who received a ketamine infusion with standard opioid therapy between 2014 and 2017. Patients were excluded if the primary diagnosis was not VOC or they did not survive to discharge.

Alternative trastuzumab dosing strategies in HER2-positive early breast cancer are associated with patient out-of-pocket savings.

Patients with breast cancer frequently experience financial hardship, often due to the high costs of anti-cancer drugs. We sought to develop alternative trastuzumab dosing strategies, compare their pharmacokinetic effectiveness to standard dosing, and assess the expected financial implications of transitioning to them. We extracted clinical data from the records of 135 retrospectively identified patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer at a single, urban comprehensive cancer center who were treated with trastuzumab between 2017 and 2019.

Pilot Findings of Pharmacogenomics in Perioperative Care: Initial Results From the First Phase of the ImPreSS Trial.

Background: Pharmacogenomics, which offers a potential means by which to inform prescribing and avoid adverse drug reactions, has gained increasing consideration in other medical settings but has not been broadly evaluated during perioperative care.

Methods: The Implementation of Pharmacogenomic Decision Support in Surgery (ImPreSS) Trial is a prospective, single-center study consisting of a prerandomization pilot and a subsequent randomized phase. We describe findings from the pilot period.

Impact of electronic interventions on guideline concordant ordering of rituximab infusion rate.

Introduction: Rituximab carries a boxed warning for severe or fatal infusion reactions; most occurring with the initial infusion. Prior studies established that if the initial rituximab infusion is tolerated, subsequent infusions can be given safely over 90 min. The University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) did not have a standardized method to document infusion reactions for outpatient chemotherapy patients, making it challenging for providers to know a patients' eligibility for rapid infusion.

Applicability of Pharmacogenomically Guided Medication Treatment during Hospitalization of At-Risk Minority Patients.

Known disparities exist in the availability of pharmacogenomic information for minority populations, amplifying uncertainty around clinical utility for these groups. We conducted a multi-site inpatient pharmacogenomic implementation program among self-identified African-Americans (AA; = 135) with numerous rehospitalizations ( = 341) from 2017 to 2020 (NIH-funded ACCOuNT project/clinicaltrials.gov#NCT03225820).

Treatment Disparities Among the Black Population and Their Influence on the Equitable Management of Chronic Pain.

Growing evidence suggests disparities in the prevalence, management, progression, and outcomes of chronic, nonmalignant pain-related conditions, especially for African American patients. The purpose of this review is to explore studied causative factors that influence the management of chronic pain among African Americans, including factors that result in disparate care that may contribute to unfavorable outcomes. This narrative review is based on available literature published on this topic published within the last 10 years.

Anesthesia providers as stakeholders to adoption of pharmacogenomic information in perioperative care.

Objectives: Integration of pharmacogenomics into clinical care is being studied in multiple disciplines. We hypothesized that understanding attitudes and perceptions of anesthesiologists, critical care and pain medicine providers would uncover unique considerations for future implementation within perioperative care.

Methods: A survey (multiple choice and Likert-scale) was administered to providers within our Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care prior to initiation of a department-wide prospective pharmacogenomics implementation program.

Impact of a structured interview on beta-lactam reaction documentation quality.

Incomplete documentation of β-lactam reactions often leads to inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a structured interview on the quality of β-lactam reaction documentation. After 203 interviews, documentation of the core components of a β-lactam reaction improved (48% vs 1%; < .

Changes in Intravenous Immunoglobulin Usage for Hypogammaglobulinemia After Implementation of a Stewardship Program.

Purpose: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is used to replenish immunoglobulins in hypogammaglobulinemia (HG) caused by hematologic malignancies (HM) or their treatment (autologous stem-cell transplantation [ASCT] and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy [CAR-T]), in an effort to reduce the risk of infections. However, there is limited evidence to support this use, and IVIG supplies are limited and shortages are common.

Methods: An IVIG stewardship program (ISP) was implemented with the following requirements for IVIG administration: immunoglobulin G (IgG) level < 400 mg/dL (corrected for paraprotein) for post-ASCT and post-CAR-T patients, or IgG < 400 mg/dL with a history of a bacterial infection within the preceding 3 months for those with HM.

Impact of transitioning inpatient chemotherapy regimens to the outpatient setting.

Background: Chemotherapy regimens historically have required admission of the patient to the hospital for extended infusions running over multiple days to complete each cycle of therapy. With the evolution of monitoring strategies readily available, a renaissance in patient care and healthcare cost utilization is necessary as transitioning the administration of these agents to the outpatient setting is seemingly achievable and is potentially more cost-effective.

Purpose: This evaluation sought to primarily measure cost-savings for an institution by transitioning inpatient chemotherapy regimens to the outpatient setting.

Efficacy and toxicity of reduced vs. standard dose pegylated asparaginase in adults with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Incorporation of asparaginase (ASNase) and pegylated asparaginase (PEG-ASP) into pediatric-inspired regimens for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has led to improved treatment outcomes albeit with increased toxicities. This study compared the efficacy and safety of the Children's Oncology Group standard PEG-ASP (SD) dosing (>1000, median 2500 IU/m/dose) in adult Philadelphia chromosome-negative ALL patients receiving multiagent chemotherapy vs reduced dose PEG-ASP (RED) (≤1000, median 500 IU/m/dose) during induction. 51 patients were included, 26 in RED and 25 in SD (median age 49 vs 37 years,  = .

Analysis of comprehensive pharmacogenomic profiling to impact in-hospital prescribing.

Introduction: In-hospital adverse medication events result in increased morbidity and mortality. Many implicated drugs carry pharmacogenomic information. We hypothesized that comprehensive pre-emptive pharmacogenomic profiling could have high relevance for in-hospital prescribing.

Posaconazole-digoxin drug-drug interaction mediated by inhibition of P-glycoprotein.

Drug-drug interactions between digoxin and the triazole antifungal agents, mediated via various cytochrome P450 isozymes, have been described in the literature. Posaconazole is not extensively metabolized by these isozymes but is both a p-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate and inhibitor. To our knowledge, there have been no published cases of clinically significant posaconazole-digoxin drug-drug interactions.

Impact of a Clinical Decision Support Tool on Cancer Pain Management in Opioid-Tolerant Inpatients.

Pain is both common and undertreated in the hematology/oncology population despite national guidelines and a focus from The Joint Commission. Herein, we describe the features of a pain clinical decision support tool (PCDST) embedded into the electronic medical record (EMR) and report its impact on oncology inpatients at risk for uncontrolled pain. The PCDST was developed to identify patients with potentially uncontrolled pain, defined as a pain score ≥4.

Moxifloxacin versus levofloxacin for antibacterial prophylaxis in acute leukemia patients.

Objective: The primary endpoint of this study was to determine the incidence of febrile neutropenia among patients receiving either moxifloxacin or levofloxacin for antibacterial prophylaxis. Secondary endpoints were number of documented infections and in-hospital mortality in patients who develop febrile neutropenia.

Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort analysis at a large tertiary care academic medical center was conducted.

Pepsi® or Coke®? Influence of acid on dasatinib absorption.

Dasatinib is a second generation ABL kinase inhibitor used in the management of chronic myeloid leukemia or Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL). Dasatinib's bioavailability is highly dependent on gastric pH. When proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are co-administered with dasatinib, absorption is significantly reduced.

Retrospective chart evaluation of hypercalcemia management in oncology patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Introduction Due to the lack of formal guideline recommendations, available primary literature was used to develop a proposed protocol for management of hypercalcemia of malignancy at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Methods A retrospective, single center, observational study was performed including adult patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of hypercalcemia and active malignancy. Patients were retrospectively identified as treated in a manner aligned with the proposed protocol ("per protocol") or not treated according to the proposed protocol ("off protocol"), and the outcomes were compared.