Mismanagement of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Pre Hospitalisation during the Omicron Era: Antibiotics and Steroids Instead of Early Antivirals.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of inappropriate treatment among hospitalised patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection before hospital admission during the Omicron era. This single-centre, retrospective observational study included all the patients hospitalised because of SARS-CoV-2 infection during three periods characterised by the Italian prevalence of an Omicron variant of concern: (1) January-May 2022 (BA.1-BA.

Adverse events during intravenous fosfomycin therapy in a real-life scenario. Risk factors and the potential role of therapeutic drug monitoring.

Background: Intravenous fosfomycin (IVFOF) is gaining interest in severe infections. Its use may be limited by adverse events (AEs). Little experience exists on IVFOF therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in real-life setting.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of antiretroviral therapy: current progresses and future directions.

Introduction: The treatment of HIV infection has been revolutionized in recent years thanks to the advent of dual antiretroviral regimens, administered orally or as long-acting injectable formulations. Here, we provide an update on the usefulness of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antiretroviral drugs to optimize the management of people with HIV (PWH) in the current scenario.

Areas Covered: A MEDLINE PubMed search for articles published between January 2014 and January 2024 was completed matching the terms HIV, antiretrovirals and TDM.

Management of the Drug-Drug Interactions Between Valproic Acid and Dolutegravir-A Case Study.

Objective: Preliminary evidence shows that concomitant administration of valproic acid can reduce the exposure to dolutegravir with limited clinical impacts. Here, we describe a male living with HIV who experienced a drastic reduction in dolutegravir trough concentrations a few weeks after starting valproic acid treatment as identified by therapeutic drug monitoring. Concomitantly, pharmacists recommended a supplementation of magnesium to improve insomnia.

Effect of Carbamazepine on Darunavir Trough Concentrations: When the Dose Can Make the Difference-A Case Study.

Background: Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an antiseizure medication known to induce the expression of cytochrome P4503A metabolic enzymes. Here, we describe a man living with HIV who underwent several changes in the daily dose of CBZ, which resulted in different induction effects on darunavir trough concentrations.

Methods: A 59-year-old man with HIV, successfully undergoing maintenance antiretroviral treatment with darunavir/cobicistat once daily (combined with raltegravir), was prescribed CBZ for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia.

Exploring the impact of co-exposure timing on drug-drug interactions in signal detection through spontaneous reporting system databases: a scoping review.

Introduction: Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are defined as the pharmacological effects produced by the concomitant administration of two or more drugs. To minimize false positive signals and ensure their validity when analyzing Spontaneous Reporting System (SRS) databases, it has been suggested to incorporate key pharmacological principles, such as temporal plausibility.

Areas Covered: The scoping review of the literature was completed using MEDLINE from inception to March 2023.

Rilpivirine and cabotegravir trough concentrations in people with HIV on long-term treatment with long-acting injectable antiretrovirals.

Objective: Large inter-individual variability in the pharmacokinetics of rilpivirine and cabotegravir has been reported in the first weeks after starting long-acting injectable (LAI) therapy. Here, we assessed the distribution of rilpivirine and cabotegravir trough concentrations in people with HIV (PWH) on long-term LAI treatment.

Methods: Adult PWH treated with LAI for at least 32 weeks with an assessment of drug plasma trough concentrations were considered.

Comparing major and mild cognitive impairment risks in older type-2 diabetic patients: a Danish register-based study on dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors vs. glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues.

Introduction: The prevalence of major and mild cognitive impairment (CI) in type-2 diabetes older patients is 15-25% and 30-60%, respectively, thus affecting quality of life and health outcomes. There is, therefore, the need of head-to-head studies aiming at identifying the optimal treatment for individuals with type-2 diabetes at increased risk of mild and major CI. This study focuses on the risk of developing mild and major CI in Danish patients treated with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues (GLP-1a) using administrative and healthcare registers.

Evaluating the 6-month formulation of paliperidone palmitate: a twice-yearly injectable treatment for schizophrenia in adults.

Introduction: Paliperidone Palmitate is the only antipsychotic that has been developed in three different intramuscular long-acting injectable (LAI) dosing regimen: monthly (PP1M), quarterly (PP3M), and from 2020 also twice-yearly (PP6M). The latter was approved for the maintenance treatment of adults with schizophrenia and clinically stabilized with PP1M or PP3M.

Areas Covered: Data from studies evaluating efficacy in the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia with PP6M are reviewed.

Management of Polypharmacy and Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Patients with Pulmonary Aspergillosis: A 2-Year Study of a Multidisciplinary Outpatient Clinic.

Pulmonary aspergillosis mainly affects elderly patients, patients with pulmonary complications, patients with hematological malignancies, organ transplant recipients, or critically ill patients. Co-morbidities may result in a high rate of polypharmacy and a high risk of potential drug-drug interaction (pDDI)-related antifungal azoles, which are perpetrators of several pharmacokinetic- and pharmacodynamic-driven pDDIs. Here, we report the results of the first 2-year study of an outpatient clinic focusing on the management of therapies in patients with pulmonary aspergillosis.

Proactive therapeutic monitoring of dalbavancin concentrations in the long-term management of chronic osteoarticular/periprosthetic joint infections.

Here, we describe the use of proactive therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to individualize the optimal timing of drug injections in 16 adult patients with chronic osteoarticular infections receiving a median of 7 injections of dalbavancin (up to 12 injections in 15 months). Dalbavancin injections were repeated at medians of 39-47 days, with infusion intervals ranging from 26 to 69 days. TDM can facilitates a precise, targeted use of dalbavancin for infections requiring prolonged treatments.

Different effects of the companion antiretroviral drugs on dolutegravir trough concentrations.

Background: Dolutegravir is widely used in different dual and triple antiretroviral regimens. Here, we sought to investigate the effect of the companion antiretroviral drug(s) on dolutegravir plasma trough concentrations in persons with HIV, with a focus on dual regimens.

Methods: Dolutegravir concentrations collected from October 2015 to March 2023 ( n  = 900) were stratified according to the main antiretroviral classes (NRTIs, NNRTIs, protease inhibitors) and according to single drugs.