Meghan N Jeffres, Madison Salam, Karrine Brade, Michael Casias
{"title":"Pharmacists and vancomycin monitoring: A relationship timeline and lessons learned.","authors":"Meghan N Jeffres, Madison Salam, Karrine Brade, Michael Casias","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae262","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae262","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Management of obesity.","authors":"Lourdes Cross","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae273","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Disclaimer: </strong>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This review summarizes the comprehensive management of obesity with a focus on the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of anti-obesity medications.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Obesity is a highly prevalent chronic disease with significant health risks, requiring a multifaceted approach to treatment. While most approved weight loss medications have modest effects, newer medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide have shown greater than 15% reduction in baseline weight. Optimal selection of therapy requires taking into consideration patient factors, such as comorbidities and goals, and medication-related factors, including weight loss efficacy, contraindications, and improvements in cardiovascular risk. As the availability of anti-obesity medications increases, multidisciplinary care teams will play an important role in selecting optimal strategies for long-term health benefits in individuals with obesity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The expanding array of anti-obesity medications provides valuable treatment options alongside lifestyle interventions and surgical approaches for managing obesity and reducing weight-related health risks. As this therapeutic area continues to grow, selecting optimal agents and educating patients on administration, monitoring, and potential adverse effects will be critical for improving overall outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caroline B Derrick, Matthew Magee, Y Vivian Tsai, Morgan E Pizzuti, Sarah Parker, Omar Lucas, Kara Taylor, Raeghan Albright, Briley Langehans, Danny Schreiber, Georgia Guest, Divya Ahuja, Sharon Weissman
{"title":"Process evaluation and early outcomes of real-world implementation of a pharmacist-driven cabotegravir/rilpivirine long-acting injectable initiative.","authors":"Caroline B Derrick, Matthew Magee, Y Vivian Tsai, Morgan E Pizzuti, Sarah Parker, Omar Lucas, Kara Taylor, Raeghan Albright, Briley Langehans, Danny Schreiber, Georgia Guest, Divya Ahuja, Sharon Weissman","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"At a crossroads: The crucial role of pharmacists in healthcare teams to end the HIV epidemic.","authors":"Jerika Lam, Jennifer Cocohoba","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae261","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Spencer H Durham, Elizabeth W Covington, Megan Z Roberts, Elias B Chahine
{"title":"Rifampin in device-related infections: Assessing the modern evidence.","authors":"Spencer H Durham, Elizabeth W Covington, Megan Z Roberts, Elias B Chahine","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae263","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Disclaimer: </strong>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Rifampin is commonly used to treat device-related infections (DRIs) due to its activity against biofilms, despite a history of limited clinical evidence to support its use. Evidence published since 2011 regarding rifampin use for DRIs is reviewed to describe the contemporary findings and ongoing considerations for rifampin use in these infections.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>A literature review was performed by searching PubMed and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies evaluating systemic rifampin use for the treatment of DRIs published from 2011 to 2023. References of identified studies were also screened for additional pertinent studies. Sixty-eight studies were identified, and 48 met the inclusion criteria. Rifampin efficacy was evaluated as both a primary outcome for cardiac device infections (n = 3) and prosthetic joint infections (n = 21) and as a nonprimary outcome (n = 24). Overall, the studies were primarily retrospective (n = 36) and small, with sample sizes ranging from 14 to 842 patients, and varied greatly with respect to prosthesis site, surgical intervention, pathogen, infection time frame, and antibiotic combination and duration. Efficacy outcome results varied greatly, with statistically significant evidence for the efficacy of rifampin combination in DRIs limited to a single study of prosthetic vascular graft infections and 13 studies of prosthetic joint infections.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The modern literature provides conflicting results regarding the benefit and lack of benefit with rifampin combination therapy in DRIs. Additional, robust research is imperative to solidify the ongoing role of rifampin in DRIs.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julie A Dopheide, Winter Rayne Nicole Roth, Michelle Chu
{"title":"Insomnia in ambulatory care: A clinical review.","authors":"Julie A Dopheide, Winter Rayne Nicole Roth, Michelle Chu","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae255","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Disclaimer: </strong>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>One-third to one-half of ambulatory care patients report insomnia. The objective of this clinical review is to detail the many causes and evidence-based treatment options for insomnia in outpatients and to recommend screening and summarize evidence for the place in therapy of prescription and nonprescription treatments.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>This work provides an overview of the literature on insomnia regarding causes, patient assessment, and nonpharmacological and pharmacological treatments. Patients who present with insomnia should be assessed for sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and all contributing medications as well as medical, psychiatric, and substance use disorder diagnoses. The type of insomnia, namely difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and early morning awakening with resulting functional impairment, should be documented in addition to whether insomnia is short term or persistent. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or digital CBT-I is first-line treatment for all patients with insomnia irrespective of the cause or type. Nonprescription treatments such as antihistamines or melatonin are for select populations. Prescription hypnotics are best utilized on an as-needed basis or for nightly use for less than 6 weeks. Z-hypnotics are safe and effective for insomnia in persons with depression or an anxiety disorder but should be avoided in older individuals or if there is respiratory or cognitive impairment. Orexin receptor antagonists are effective for sleep initiation and maintenance in healthy persons or if there is mild cognitive impairment, but they require further study in individuals with psychiatric and medical diagnoses. Trazodone is the most prescribed off-label treatment due to its efficacy for sleep initiation and maintenance and its lack of abuse potential.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Insomnia treatment should be guided by patient age, diagnoses, and type of insomnia. Pharmacological treatments should be used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration of time.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chelsea P Renfro, Dustin R Donald, Amanda M Kibbons, Monica D Littlejohn, E Danielle Bryan, Ryan Nix, Elizabeth Cherry, Autumn D Zuckerman
{"title":"Ultra-complex specialty medications: Meeting the challenges of significant medication requirements through an integrated specialty pharmacy model.","authors":"Chelsea P Renfro, Dustin R Donald, Amanda M Kibbons, Monica D Littlejohn, E Danielle Bryan, Ryan Nix, Elizabeth Cherry, Autumn D Zuckerman","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae256","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Disclaimer: </strong>In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>There is a growing number of specialty medications with accompanying requirements that exceed standard characteristics, which may be referred to as \"ultra complex.\" This article details examples of ultra-complex specialty medications, including the characteristics that make them ultra complex, and strategies implemented by an integrated health-system specialty pharmacy (IHSSP) to maintain an optimal patient journey.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Before therapy initiation, ultra-complex specialty medications often require additional steps that go beyond what is required of traditional specialty treatments, such as ensuring patients have appointments scheduled and attended and coordinating medical procedures. At the time of initiation, ultra-complex therapy might require additional immunizations or dosing based on specific tests. Finally, specialty pharmacists managing ultra-complex medications often have to dedicate more time and effort to medication monitoring to ensure patients are able to stay on appropriate doses without treatment interruption. Manufacturers of ultra-complex medications must consider the resources and requirements that will be needed to ensure the success of these medications in the real world. Health systems must be aware of resource and staffing requirements necessary to ensure the success of ultra-complex medications. One consideration is the addition of a dedicated risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) pharmacist whose primary role is to ensure compliance with REMS requirements.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Ultra-complex specialty medications provide unprecedented therapeutic advancements but demand multidisciplinary resources and workflows to enable safe medication initiation, appropriate dosing and monitoring, and achievement of desired therapeutic goals. IHSSPs are integrated into the care team and provide advanced monitoring capabilities, making them an ideal setting for managing ultra-complex specialty medications. External IHSSP partnerships working together before and after the launch of ultra-complex specialty medications allow for an optimal patient and provider journey from medication initiation through ongoing care coordination and monitoring.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142339302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tyler A Vest, Nicholas P Gazda, Daniel P O'Neil, Kathrine Donnowitz, Rebecca Carlson Mls Ahip, Stephen F Eckel
{"title":"Practice-enhancing publications about the medication-use process in 2022.","authors":"Tyler A Vest, Nicholas P Gazda, Daniel P O'Neil, Kathrine Donnowitz, Rebecca Carlson Mls Ahip, Stephen F Eckel","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae125","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This article identifies, prioritizes, and summarizes published literature on the medication-use process (MUP) from calendar year 2022 that can impact health-system pharmacy daily practice. The MUP is the foundational system that provides the framework for safe medication utilization within the healthcare environment. The MUP is defined in this article as having the following components: prescribing/transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring. Articles evaluating at least one step of the MUP were assessed for their usefulness toward practice improvement.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>A PubMed search was conducted in January 2023 for articles published in calendar year 2022 using targeted Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords, and searches of the table of contents of selected pharmacy journals were conducted, providing a total of 6,213 articles. A thorough review identified 69 potentially practice-enhancing articles: 13 for prescribing/transcribing, 13 for dispensing, 5 for administration, and 38 for monitoring. Practice trends discussed in the articles are briefly summarized, with a mention of their importance within health-system pharmacy. The articles are listed and summarized in tables for further review and evaluation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>It is important to routinely review the published literature and to incorporate significant findings into daily practice. This article assists in identifying and summarizing the most impactful publications. Health-system pharmacists have an active role in improving the MUP in their institution, and awareness of the significant published studies can assist in changing practice at the institutional level.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140896763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of a health-system specialty pharmacy on time to upadacitinib initiation.","authors":"David Choi, David T Rubin, Bernice Man","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae123","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae123","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Upadacitinib has been found to improve symptoms as early as day 1 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. As a result, early and timely initiation of upadacitinib is paramount to prevent hospital admission for an acute flare. The purpose of this study was to identify the time to initiation of upadacitinib, comparing external specialty pharmacies (ESPs) to a health-system specialty pharmacy (HSSP).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a single-center, retrospective study at the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and included patients initiated on upadacitinib between March 1, 2022, and April 1, 2023. Data collected included demographics, prior authorization information, appeal information, insurance type, date the prescription was sent, and date the patient initiated therapy (patients were called to confirm the date). The primary outcome evaluated was the days from prescribing to patient initiation. Secondary outcomes included the total time to initiation and the time to notification from insurance regarding determination of a prior authorization or appeal. Patients were excluded if they were lost to follow-up, initiated therapy through alternative means, or had previously initiated upadacitinib.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 107 patients were initiated on upadacitinib during the study period (n = 18 through the UCM HSSP, n = 89 through an ESP). The median number of days to patient initiation was 3 days (interquartile range, 3-6 days) for the UCM specialty pharmacy vs 9 days (interquartile range, 4-13 days) for ESPs (P = 0.003). A total of 88.9% of patients filling through the UCM specialty pharmacy initiated upadacitinib within 7 days, compared to 47.2% of patients filling through an ESP (P = 0.001). Seven patients needed earlier initiation of therapy to prevent hospital admission.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study validates the ability of HSSPs to initiate therapies earlier than ESPs with a particular focus on upadacitinib.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140910836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of optimized adult epidural infusion preparations to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency.","authors":"Kathrine Donnowitz, Stephen F Eckel","doi":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae057","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ajhp/zxae057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Despite national recommendations to standardize infusion concentrations, there is minimal guidance on institution-specific strategies and outcomes related to epidural infusion concentration standardization and optimization. The purpose of this project is to identify the optimal compounded preparation for use in select adult epidural infusions and assess the impact on drug and fluid utilization and cost savings if the designated preparation is adopted.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A previously validated tool, the VERB (vial, exchange, rate, and bag) analysis, was applied to epidural infusion pump administration data to identify preparations optimized for efficient supply and resource utilization at a large academic medical center.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Weighing all components of the VERB analysis, the preferred preparation of hydromorphone and bupivacaine for the hospital site was hydromorphone (10 µg/mL) and bupivacaine (0.125%) in 50 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride injection (2,500 µg of hydromorphone per epidural). The preferred preparation of fentanyl and bupivacaine was fentanyl (2 µg/mL) and bupivacaine (0.0625%) in 50 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride injection (100 µg of fentanyl per epidural). Both recommendations are different from the currently utilized preparations at the study site.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Analyzing historic drug administration data using the novel 4-step VERB analysis identified optimized drug preparations and fluid bag sizes for the most-prescribed epidural drug combinations at the hospital study site.</p>","PeriodicalId":7577,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140064621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}