Communicating doses of pediatric liquid medicines to parents/caregivers: a comparison of written dosing directions on prescriptions with labels applied by dispensed pharmacy.

Objective: To identify and compare volumetric measures used by healthcare providers in communicating dosing instructions for pediatric liquid prescriptions to parents/caregivers.

Study Design: Dosing instructions were retrospectively reviewed for the 10 most frequently prescribed liquid medications dispensed from 4 community pharmacies for patients aged ≤ 12 years during a 3-month period. Volumetric measures on original prescriptions (ie, milliliters, teaspoons) were compared with those utilized by the pharmacist on the pharmacy label dispensed to the parent/caregiver.

Implementation of a pharmacy technician-centered medication reconciliation program at an urban teaching medical center.

Purpose: An inpatient medication reconciliation (MR) program emphasizing pharmacy technicians' role in the MR process is described.

Summary: As part of quality-improvement (QI) efforts focused on MR-related adverse drug events, an urban academic medical center in New Jersey implemented a pharmacy technician-centered MR (PTMR) program targeting patients on its internal medicine, oncology, and clinical decision units. The program is staffed by five full- or part-time technicians who are trained in MR methods and work under direct pharmacist supervision, interviewing newly admitted patients and using other information sources (e.

Learning from successful school-based vaccination clinics during 2009 pH1N1.

Background: The 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign was the largest in US history. State health departments received vaccines from the federal government and sent them to local health departments (LHDs) who were responsible for getting vaccines to the public. Many LHD's used school-based clinics to ensure children were the first to receive limited vaccine supplies, but the success of school-based distribution strategies varied in different locations.

NMDA Receptor Antagonists for Treatment of Depression.

Depression is a psychiatric disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Individuals battling this disorder commonly experience high rates of relapse, persistent residual symptoms, functional impairment, and diminished well-being. Medications have important utility in stabilizing moods and daily functions of many individuals.

Healthcare expenses associated with multiple vs singleton pregnancies in the United States.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to document cost that is associated with multiple births vs singleton births in the United States.

Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study that used a claims database. Women 19-45 years old with live-born infants from 2005-2010 were identified.

Molecular dynamics simulations of homo-oligomeric bundles embedded within a lipid bilayer.

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we studied the structure, interhelix interactions, and dynamics of transmembrane proteins. Specifically, we investigated homooligomeric helical bundle systems consisting of synthetic α-helices with either the sequence Ac-(LSLLLSL)3-NH2 (LS2) or Ac-(LSSLLSL)3-NH2 (LS3). The LS2 and LS3 helical peptides are designed to have amphipathic characteristics that form ion channels in membrane.

A molecular dynamics approach for predicting the glass transition temperature and plasticization effect in amorphous pharmaceuticals.

The objectives of this study were as follows: (i) To develop an in silico technique, based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, to predict glass transition temperatures (Tg) of amorphous pharmaceuticals. (ii) To computationally study the effect of plasticizer on Tg. (iii) To investigate the intermolecular interactions using radial distribution function (RDF).

Surface reconstruction by a "grafting through" approach: polyacrylamide grafted onto chitosan film.

Grafted polymers and polymer brushes in particular have attracted significant attention in the last 2 decades as a way to alter and control interfacial properties. In the case of polymer brushes on solid substrates, a high grafting density of polymer chains results in stretching of the polymer coils normal to the substrate surface due to the effect of excluded volume. In this study, polyacrylamide is grafted to the surface of relatively soft thin films of chitosan.

Conformational preferences of furan- and thiophene-based arylamides: a combined computational and experimental study.

We examine the conformational preferences of the furan- and thiophene-based arylamides, N-methylfuran-2-carboxamide (3) and N-methylthiophene-2-carboxamide (4), using a combination of computational methods and NMR experiments. The compound choice stems from their use as foldamer building blocks. We quantify the differences in the conformational rigidity of the two compounds, which governs corresponding foldamer conformations.

Local health department public vaccination clinic success during 2009 pH1N1.

Context: Local health departments (LHDs) were responsible for administering vaccine to the public during the 2009 H1N1 campaign but had relatively little guidance or experience to inform such a large campaign with limited vaccine supply. They used various processes to deliver vaccines to the public. Learning from the LHDs that were successful in their public vaccination campaigns can help inform future vaccination efforts.

Preparation, drug release, and cell growth inhibition of a gelatin: doxorubicin conjugate.

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of a novel macromolecular delivery system for doxorubicin (DOX) which combines pH dependent DOX release with a high molecular weight and biodegradable gelatin carrier.

Methods: DOX was conjugated to gelatin using an acid labile hydrazone bond and a glycylglycine linker. The gelatin-doxorubicin conjugate (G-DOX) was evaluated for hydrazide and DOX content by spectrophotometry, molecular weight by HPLC-SEC, in vitro DOX release at various pH, and cell growth inhibition using EL4 mouse lymphoma and PC3 human prostate cells.

Rash associated with dabigatran etexilate.

Patients experiencing atrial fibrillation are at an increased risk for thromboembolic events. Therefore, anticoagulation therapy is imperative to prevent thrombus formation and stroke. Dabigatran etexilate was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010 as anticoagulant prophylaxis for patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

The pharmacology and therapeutic use of dabigatran etexilate.

Dabigatran etexilate is an oral prodrug of dabigatran, a direct thrombin inhibitor, that provides the first available oral anticoagulant alternative to warfarin for reducing the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Although warfarin is effective, many patients with AF remain undertreated, primarily because of the management challenges associated with warfarin therapy. Dabigatran etexilate offers several potential advantages over warfarin, including fixed dosing, no requirement for blood coagulation monitoring, and reduced propensity for drug-drug interactions.

Synthesis and evaluation as potential anticancer agents of novel tetracyclic indenoquinoline derivatives.

We report the synthesis and evaluation as potential anticancer agents of a series of tetracyclic indenoquinolines. The compounds, which are obtained through the photoisomerization of Diels-Alder adducts formed between purpurogallin derivatives and nitrosobenzene, have in vitro antiproliferative activities in the μM to nM range against breast (MCF-7), lung epithelial (A-549), and cervical (HeLa) adenocarcinoma cells. The cytotoxicities of several of the novel tetracycles are comparable to or better than that of camptothecin.

Rivaroxaban: an oral factor Xa inhibitor.

Background: Currently available anticoagulants utilized for venous thromboembolism (VTE) treatment and prevention and stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have proven effectiveness but are not optimally utilized because of barriers such as the need for subcutaneous administration and requisite routine laboratory monitoring. Rivaroxaban, a novel oral Xa inhibitor, is an alternative to standard therapies utilized for VTE prevention after elective orthopedic surgery, primary and secondary stroke prevention in nonvalvular AF, VTE treatment after an acute VTE event, and secondary prevention after the acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Objective: This article reviews the pharmacology, efficacy, and tolerability of rivaroxaban for VTE prophylaxis in post-orthopedic surgery and medically ill patients, stroke prevention in nonvalvular AF, adjunctive therapy in patients with ACS, and VTE treatment.

The fractured femur.

The femur is the largest and strongest bone in the human body, and great force is necessary to fracture it. In adults, the most common cause of femur fracture is motor vehicle accidents. In children, abuse is often the cause.