Factors Influencing the Medication Adherence in Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Its Impact on Healthcare Utilization.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the factors influencing medication adherence among adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and impact of central nervous system stimulants (CNS) adherence on healthcare utilization (HCU). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2013 to 2019, with participants (≥18 years of age) with ADHD and had at least one CNS prescription. Multivariate logistic and linear regression were utilized to evaluate the medication adherence and its impact on HCU, respectively.

Patient's perceptions of buprenorphine use receiving treatment for cancer.

Objective: To assess knowledge and attitudes toward opioids and buprenorphine (BUP) of patients with cancer.

Design: Single-site, single-intervention telephone survey of patients under palliative care at the cancer center.

Outcomes: Forty percent of the participants recognized the word "buprenorphine," and 28 percent recognized BUP indication for addiction treatment.

Cancer-associated somatic mutations in human phosphofructokinase-1 reveal a critical electrostatic interaction for allosteric regulation of enzyme activity.

Metabolic reprogramming, including increased glucose uptake and lactic acid excretion, is a hallmark of cancer. The glycolytic 'gatekeeper' enzyme phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1), which catalyzes the step committing glucose to breakdown, is dysregulated in cancers. While altered PFK1 activity and expression in tumors have been demonstrated, little is known about the effects of cancer-associated somatic mutations.

The role of managed care professionals in the management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

Managed care professionals play a significant role in the management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME) through formulary management and drug utilization strategies. These strategies are designed to improve access to affordable care and minimize medical costs to both patients and payers. Preserving vision in patients with nAMD and DME is key to improving clinical outcomes and reducing the risk of comorbid conditions, such as depression.

Evaluation of a pharmacist-provider collaborative clinic for treatment of iron deficiency in patients with heart failure.

Purpose: Intravenous iron therapy is recommended to improve symptoms and exercise tolerance in patients with heart failure (HF) with -reduced ejection fraction and iron deficiency (ID), but there are limited published data on the implementation of intravenous iron therapy in practice. A pharmacist-provider collaborative ID treatment clinic was established within an advanced HF and pulmonary hypertension service to optimize IV iron therapy. The objective was to evaluate the clinical impacts of the pharmacist-provider collaborative ID treatment clinic.

Student knowledge, confidence, and perceptions prior to and following an inhaler and tobacco cessation simulation.

Background And Purpose: To assess knowledge, perceptions, and confidence of second-year pharmacy students regarding implementation of an innovative inhaler and tobacco cessation simulation.

Educational Activity And Setting: A simulation was created that required students to counsel a standardized patient concomitantly on an inhaler prescription and tobacco cessation. To assess the primary outcome of student perceptions and confidence, a survey was administered pre- and post-simulation.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of interventions addressing caregiver distress and burden among cancer caregivers.

Objective: Informal caregivers (ICs) are vital to supportive cancer care and assisting cancer patients, but this caregiving burden is associated with significant distress. While addressing caregiving, it is important to explore if the caregivers are receiving care they need. Evaluating interventions that address burden and distress is integral to targeting ICs needs.

Sacubitril/Valsartan Does Not Change the Use and Dose of Loop Diuretics in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

There is no standard approach for managing the use or dose of loop diuretics after initiating sacubitril/valsartan. To investigate longitudinal trends in loop diuretic therapy use and doses during the initial 6 months following sacubitril/valsartan initiation. This retrospective cohort study included adult patients who were initiated on sacubitril/valsartan in cardiology clinics.

Machine learning for spatial stratification of progressive cardiovascular dysfunction in a murine model of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) has been utilized to evaluate independent spatial alterations in the diabetic heart, but the progressive manifestation of regional and segmental cardiac dysfunction in the type 2 diabetic (T2DM) heart remains understudied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to elucidate if machine learning could be utilized to reliably describe patterns of the progressive regional and segmental dysfunction that are associated with the development of cardiac contractile dysfunction in the T2DM heart. Non-invasive conventional echocardiography and STE datasets were utilized to segregate mice into two pre-determined groups, wild-type and Db/Db, at 5, 12, 20, and 25 weeks.

Prescription Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and Incidence of Depression Among Older Cancer Survivors With Osteoarthritis: A Machine Learning Analysis.

Objectives: This study examined prescription NSAIDs as one of the leading predictors of incident depression and assessed the direction of the association among older cancer survivors with osteoarthritis.

Methods: This study used a retrospective cohort (N = 14, 992) of older adults with incident cancer (breast, prostate, colorectal cancers, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) and osteoarthritis. We used the longitudinal data from the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results -Medicare data for the study period from 2006 through 2016, with a 12-month baseline and 12-month follow-up period.

Development of an integrated rheumatoid arthritis simulation that reinforces specialty pharmacy and managed care concepts.

Background And Purpose: As pharmacy services expand, it is critical for schools/colleges of pharmacy to prepare learners to provide patient care in a variety of settings and to subsequently assess skills that are necessary for clinical practice. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop and implement a simulation that required students to integrate knowledge from multiple courses and disciplines, (2) assess students' performance and perceptions of the activity, and (3) measure student confidence related to managed care, specialty pharmacy, and clinical and foundational concepts prior to and after the simulation.

Educational Activity And Setting: Faculty developed an integrated simulation that required students to provide information for prior authorization of a new medication, counsel a patient on rheumatoid arthritis and the medication, and address patient questions about insurance formularies, cost, and prior authorization processes.

Multidisciplinary Care in Heart Failure Services.

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Failure Society of American 2022 guidelines for heart failure (HF) recommend a multidisciplinary team approach for patients with HF. The multidisciplinary HF team-based approach decreases the hospitalization rate for HF and health care costs and improves adherence to self-care and the use of guideline-directed medical therapy. This article proposes the optimal multidisciplinary team structure and each team member's delineated role to achieve institutional goals and metrics for HF care.

Perceptions of West Virginia Teens and Adults Regarding the Risks of Over-the-Counter Pain Medications.

More than 1 billion people live with chronic pain, including 100 million Americans, with a majority utilizing prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications. OTC medications are readily available and facilitate generally positive efficacy, yet misuse leads to a high number of medication-related problems, with acetaminophen alone accounting for more than 50,000 emergency department visits annually. The West Virginia Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) high school student program and the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center collaborated to accomplish 2 objectives: to assess and compare knowledge and perceptions of OTC pain medications in the West Virginia community and to develop and provide educational interventions to high school students regarding knowledge and perceptions of OTC pain medications.

Characterization of Unintentional Deaths Among Buprenorphine Users.

Objective: Medications used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) reduce drug overdose risk. Buprenorphine is often the preferred treatment for OUD because of its high safety profile. Given expanding buprenorphine use, this study sought to examine buprenorphine-involved deaths (BIDs) and compare them with other drug-related deaths.

Chemotherapeutic Activity of Pitavastatin in Vincristine Resistant B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is derived from an accumulation of malignant, immature B cells in the bone marrow and blood. Relapse due, in part, to the emergence of tumor cells that are resistant to front line standard chemotherapy is associated with poor patient outcomes. This challenge highlights the need for new treatment strategies to eliminate residual chemoresistant tumor cells.

Use of stimulatory responsive soft nanoparticles for intracellular drug delivery.

Drug delivery has made tremendous advances in the last decade. Targeted therapies are increasingly common, with intracellular delivery highly impactful and sought after. Intracellular drug delivery systems have limitations due to imprecise and non-targeted release profiles.

Comparison of the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination amidst the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic within Six Regional Community Pharmacies of a Large Pharmacy Chain.

: The CDC has issued interim guidance on administering influenza vaccines amidst the COVID-19 pandemic including providing specific appointment times. A large chain pharmacy has adopted this guidance and is encouraging patients to make appointments rather than a walk-in visit for the influenza vaccination to help avoid large crowds. : This study aims to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on influenza vaccination rates (2019 versus 2020 season) and patient appointments versus walk-in visits.

Association of genetic variants and survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in rural Appalachia.

Background: Previous population health studies examining adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however many of these, such as the Cancer Genome Atlas, are derived from databases collected by large urban centers. Due to its unique industry and environmental exposures, we hypothesized the West Virginia Appalachian population may have different mutational trends and clinical outcomes.

Aims: To address the concern of under-representation of rural minorities in cancer genomic databases, we performed exploratory whole exome sequencing in patients with newly diagnosed AML in rural Appalachia.