Associations Among Menstrual Cycle Length, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and Vaccination.

Objective: To assess whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with menstrual cycle length changes and, if so, how that compares with those undergoing vaccination or no event (control).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis in which we analyzed prospectively tracked cycle-length data from users of a period tracker application who also responded to a survey regarding COVID-19 symptoms and vaccination. We restricted our sample to users aged 16-45 years, with normal cycle lengths (24-38 days) and regular tracking behavior during the five cycles around COVID-19 symptoms or vaccination or a similar time period for those experiencing no event (control group).

More than blood: app-tracking reveals variability in heavy menstrual bleeding construct.

Background: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is associated with impaired quality of life and may signal serious health problems. Unresolved challenges in measuring menstrual bleeding and identifying HMB have hampered research and clinical care. Self-reported bleeding histories are commonly used but these may be influenced by recall bias, personal beliefs regarding "normal" flow volume, and the experience of other physical symptoms or disruptions to daily life.

Role of lung ultrasound for the etiological diagnosis of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in children: a prospective study.

Objective And Design: Our prospective study assesses the role of detailed lung ultrasound (LUS) features to discriminate the etiological diagnosis of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in children.

Methodology: We analyzed patients aged from 1 month to 17 years admitted between March 2018 and April 2020 who were hospitalized for ALRTI. For all patients, history, clinical parameters, microbiological data, and lung ultrasound data were collected.

Virtual Reality in Pharmacy: Opportunities for Clinical, Research, and Educational Applications.

Virtual reality (VR) has been widely studied and applied in numerous medical applications.1 In pharmacy, VR can potentially be applied as follows: adjunctively or as a replacement for pharmacotherapy; in drug design and discovery; in pharmacist education; and in patient counseling and behavior modification.1-6 Research applying VR in pharmacy is currently limited; however, interest in these applications is increasing.

Big Data and Pharmacovigilance: Data Mining for Adverse Drug Events and Interactions.

Adverse drug events (ADEs), including drug interactions, have a tremendous impact on patient health and generate substantial health care costs. A "big data" approach to pharmacovigilance involves the identification of drug-ADE associations by data mining various electronic sources, including: adverse event reports, the medical literature, electronic health records, and social media. This approach has been useful in assisting the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies in monitoring and decision-making regarding drug safety.

Progress in Nanomedicine: Approved and Investigational Nanodrugs.

Nanomedicine is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field combining nanotechnology with the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.1-3 Nanoparticles (NPs) can impart many pharmacokinetic, efficacy, safety, and targeting benefits when they are included in drug formulations.1-5 Many nanodrugs have entered clinical practice, and even more are being investigated in clinical trials for a wide variety of indications.

Cancer Immunotherapy, Part 3: Challenges and Future Trends.

Despite dramatic breakthroughs, obstacles remain for the field of immunotherapy in cancer. These include the inability to predict treatment efficacy and patient response; the need for improved biomarkers; the development of resistance to immunotherapies; the lack of optimized clinical study designs; and high costs. Are solutions in sight?

Cancer Immunotherapy, Part 2: Efficacy, Safety, and Other Clinical Considerations.

This article, the second in a series of three, provides an overview of the efficacy and safety of cancer immunotherapies ranging from monoclonal antibodies to vaccines, including additional clinical considerations regarding immune checkpoint blockers.

Cancer Immunotherapy, Part 1: Current Strategies and Agents.

This article, the first in a series of three, introduces cancer immunology, cancer immunotherapy strategies, and the classes of anticancer therapeutic agents.

Immunization in the United States: Recommendations, Barriers, and Measures to Improve Compliance: Part 2: Adult Vaccinations.

Despite annual recommendations, American adults remain inadequately vaccinated. The author outlines how compliance may be improved through health care professional interventions, as well as government and community-based programs.

Immunization in the United States: Recommendations, Barriers, and Measures to Improve Compliance: Part 1: Childhood Vaccinations.

Childhood vaccination is one of the most effective public health strategies to control and prevent disease, but some parents decline or delay vaccinating their children. A variety of measures have been suggested to overcome vaccine noncompliance.

Evaluation of Biosimilars for Formulary Inclusion: Factors for Consideration by P&T Committees.

P&T committees will play a key role in driving the adoption of biosimilars, which have unique characteristics compared with small-molecule generic drugs. Key elements of formulary review will include clinical parameters, product characteristics, and institutional considerations, which are among the issues covered in this article.

The antibiotic resistance crisis: part 2: management strategies and new agents.

Controlling antibiotic-resistant bacteria calls for widespread adoption of antibiotic stewardship programs; better diagnosis, tracking and prescribing practices; optimized therapeutic regimens; prevention of infection transmission-and new drugs.

The antibiotic resistance crisis: part 1: causes and threats.

Decades after the first patients were treated with antibiotics, bacterial infections have again become a threat because of the rapid emergence of resistant bacteria-a crisis attributed to abuse of these medications and a lack of new drug development.

Men's contraceptive practices in France: evidence of male involvement in family planning.

Objective: To describe contraceptive practices of men in a relationship in France, where use of female-controlled methods is predominant, and to explore their involvement in managing contraception within the couple.

Study Design: Data are drawn from a national probability cross-sectional survey on sexual and reproductive health conducted in France in 2010. The study sample comprised 3373 men aged 15-49, 1776 of whom were asked about their current contraceptive practices after they reported that they were fecund and sexually active and did not currently want a child.

Epilepsy management: newer agents, unmet needs, and future treatment strategies.

Drug therapy aids most epilepsy patients, but unmet challenges include drug-resistant epilepsy, adverse reactions, drug interactions, the need to better identify epileptic syndromes, and a lack of agents to prevent epilepsy and its comorbidities.

Medical Applications for 3D Printing: Current and Projected Uses.

3D printing is expected to revolutionize health care through uses in tissue and organ fabrication; creation of customized prosthetics, implants, and anatomical models; and pharmaceutical research regarding drug dosage forms, delivery, and discovery.

Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, and best practices.

Health care professionals can use a variety of social media tools to improve or enhance networking, education, and other activities. However, these tools also present some potential risks, such as unreliable information and violations of patients' privacy rights.

Mobile devices and apps for health care professionals: uses and benefits.

Health care professionals' use of mobile devices is transforming clinical practice. Numerous medical software applications can now help with tasks ranging from information and time management to clinical decision-making at the point of care.

The role of pharmacogenomic biomarkers in predicting and improving drug response: part 2: challenges impeding clinical implementation.

Many obstacles currently limit the ability to apply our knowledge of gene-drug associations in pharmacy practice. However, steps are gradually being taken toward the goal of incorporating genetic testing into routine patient care.

Role of pharmacogenomic biomarkers in predicting and improving drug response: part 1: the clinical significance of pharmacogenetic variants.

As genotyping and genetic testing become more sophisticated, accessible, and costeffective, these tools hold great promise for predicting and improving responses to medications.

Biosimilars: part 2: potential concerns and challenges for p&t committees.

P&T committee members need a lot more information before they can evaluate the efficacy and safety, interchangeability, and cost-effectiveness of biosimilar products for inclusion on formularies.

Biosimilars: part 1: proposed regulatory criteria for FDA approval.

Biosimilars, although not identical to their originator product, are expected to become essential in reducing health care costs and improving access to lifesaving drugs. The FDA must find a way to balance rigorous testing to ensure quality, as is done for generic chemical drugs, with providing a cost-efficient way to expedite approvals of these products.

The nanomedicine revolution: part 3: regulatory and safety challenges.

Before the FDA can set up safety guidelines for nanomedicines, it needs to establish valid testing criteria. The goal is to strike a balance between underregulation (which can lead to questionable approvals) and overregulation (which can inhibit innovation).