Triggered: Discovery of Neurocysticercosis Following Self-Administered Albendazole.

A 25-year-old man with no medical history presented with a seizure one month after taking a self-administered dose of albendazole. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed multiple ring-enhancing lesions, and the workup confirmed neurocysticercosis (NCC). Treatment with antiparasitics was delayed due to concern for worsening symptoms from the presence of cysts in the midbrain and hippocampus.

Rapid sequence intubation and the role of the emergency medicine pharmacist: 2022 update.

Purpose: The dosing, potential adverse effects, and clinical outcomes of the most commonly utilized pharmacologic agents for rapid sequence intubation (RSI) are reviewed for the practicing emergency medicine pharmacist (EMP).

Summary: RSI is the process of establishing a safe, functional respiratory system in patients unable to effectively breathe on their own. Various medications are chosen to sedate and even paralyze the patient to facilitate an efficient endotracheal intubation.

Impact of low versus negative estrogen/progesterone receptor status on clinico-pathologic characteristics and survival outcomes in HER2-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is classically defined by estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) immunohistochemistry expression <1% and absence of HER2 amplification/overexpression. HER2-negative breast cancer with low ER/PR expression (1-10%) has a gene expression profile similar to TNBC; however, real-world treatment patterns, chemotherapy response, endocrine therapy benefit, and survival outcomes for the Low-ER group are not well known. 516 patients with stage I-III HER2-negative breast cancer and ER/PR expression ≤10% who were enrolled in a multisite prospective registry between 2011 and 2019 were categorized on the basis of ER/PR expression.

Creation of a regional hazardous drug handling task force.

Purpose: A regional task force of health-system pharmacy leaders was created to assist with successful adoption of United States Pharmacopeia (USP) general chapter <800>.

Summary: A group of pharmacy leaders in the Kansas City region identified potential benefits to healthcare personnel and patients if hazardous drug handling procedures were standardized. A task force was created, a preimplementation survey was distributed, and meetings were held monthly to discuss sections of USP <800> identified as the most challenging to implement.

Randomized Phase II Trial of Anthracycline-free and Anthracycline-containing Neoadjuvant Carboplatin Chemotherapy Regimens in Stage I-III Triple-negative Breast Cancer (NeoSTOP).

Purpose: Addition of carboplatin (Cb) to anthracycline chemotherapy improves pathologic complete response (pCR), and carboplatin plus taxane regimens also yield encouraging pCR rates in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Aim of the NeoSTOP multisite randomized phase II trial was to assess efficacy of anthracycline-free and anthracycline-containing neoadjuvant carboplatin regimens.

Patients And Methods: Patients aged ≥18 years with stage I-III TNBC were randomized (1:1) to receive either paclitaxel (P) weekly × 12 plus carboplatin AUC6 every 21 days × 4 followed by doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) every 14 days × 4 (CbP → AC, arm A), or carboplatin AUC6 + docetaxel (D) every 21 days × 6 (CbD, arm B).

Key articles and guidelines for the emergency medicine clinical pharmacist: 2011-2018 update.

Purpose: To summarize recently published research reports and practice guidelines on emergency medicine (EM)-related pharmacotherapy.

Summary: Our author group was composed of 14 EM pharmacists, who used a systematic process to determine main sections and topics for the update as well as pertinent literature for inclusion. Main sections and topics were determined using a modified Delphi method, author and peer reviewer groups were formed, and articles were selected based on a comprehensive literature review and several criteria for each author-reviewer pair.

Ketamine for Migraine in the Emergency Department.

Ketamine is utilized often in the emergency department (ED) for rapid sequence intubation, procedural sedation, and acute pain management. The treatment of migraine headache in the ED varies widely and is dependent on several factors including migraine cause, previous successful abortive methods, and provider preference. Several medications are currently employed to treat acute migraine including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, triptans, antihistamines, prochlorperazine, and corticosteroids, among others.

Comparison of Medication History Accuracy Between Nurses and Pharmacy Personnel.

Purpose:: To evaluate the differences in medication history errors made by pharmacy technicians, students, and pharmacists compared to nurses at a community hospital.

Methods:: One hundred medication histories completed by either pharmacy or nursing staff were repeated and evaluated for errors by a fourth-year pharmacy student. The histories were analyzed for differences in the rate of errors per medication.

A review of American pharmacy: education, training, technology, and practice.

In the United States, pharmacists are responsible for the provision of safe, effective, efficient, and accountable medication related-care for hospital and health-system patients. Leveraging automated technologies, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacist extenders are the means through which efficient, effective, and safe medication use processes are created and maintained. These strategies limit the amount of pharmacist resources needed for nonjudgmental tasks such as medication distribution, allowing more capacity for advanced direct patient care roles.

Enactment of mandatory pharmacy technician certification in Kansas.

Purpose: The successful enactment of mandatory pharmacy technician certification in Kansas is described.

Methods: In 2004, Kansas began requiring registration of all pharmacy technicians with the state board of pharmacy. Registration identified individuals working as pharmacy technicians but did not require any specific education or certification.

Myocardial energetics and ubiquinol in diastolic heart failure.

Diastolic heart failure, or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. There are no current therapies effective in improving outcomes for these patients. The aim of this article is to review the literature and examine the role of coenzyme Q10 in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction related to mitochondrial synthesis of adenosine triphosphate and reactive oxygen species production.

Decreasing informal caregiver burden with social media.

In 2008, there were 44 million informal family caregivers and the number is expected to rise in the next decade. Hospice clinicians need to explore ways to decrease the burden of care for these informal caregivers. The use of electronic technology and social media may be a key component in improving support at end of life in the home setting.

Results of laparoscopically assisted colon resection for carcinoma.

Background: Surgical resection is the primary treatment for colorectal carcinoma. Laparoscopically assisted colon resection technically is feasible for both benign and malignant disease. However, the role of laparoscopically assisted colon resection for carcinoma is controversial.

Laparoscopic gastrectomy: five cases.

We present the results of five patients who underwent gastrectomy using a laparoscopic technique. All patients had an intracorporeal resection of the antrum followed by an antecolic intracorporeal gastrojejunostomy (Billroth II). Two patients also had bilateral truncal vagotomy, and one had a Roux-en-Y component to the gastrojejunostomy.

Laparoscopic colon resection: 60 cases.

The first 60 successfully completed laparoscopic colectomies in our series are reported. Patients used moderate amounts of narcotic postoperatively, tolerated oral intake early postoperatively (mean, 1.5 days), and returned to work 2.

Laparoscopic resection of a submucosal gastric lipoma: a case report.

A 51-year-old patient presented with massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopy revealed a submucosal gastric lipoma with secondary bleeding ulcers. The lesion was located on the anterior wall of the antrum.

Laparoscopy-assisted sigmoid resection.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been widely accepted, and because of its many benefits, other intra-abdominal operations are now being done laparoscopically. We felt the next step in the evolution of laparoscopic surgery could be bowel resection. This paper presents two cases of laparoscopic sigmoid resection and a detailed description of the technique.