Objective. To evaluate first-year pharmacy students' ability to identify medication errors involving the top 100 prescription medications. Design. In the first quarter of a 3-quarter pharmacy self-care course, a didactic lecture on the most common prescribing and dispensing prescription errors was presented to first-year pharmacy students (P1) in preparation for a prescription review simulation done individually and as a group. In the following quarter, they were given a formal prescription review workshop before a second simulation involving individual and group review of a different set of prescriptions. Students were evaluated based on the number of correctly checked prescriptions and a self-assessment of their confidence in reviewing prescriptions. Assessment. All 63 P1 students completed the prescription review simulations. The individual scores did not significantly change, but group scores improved from 79 (16.2%) in the fall quarter to 98.6 (4.7%) in the winter quarter. Students perceived improvement of their prescription checking skills, specifically in their ability to fill a prescription on their own, identify prescribing and dispensing errors, and perform pharmaceutical calculations. Conclusion. A prescription review module consisting of a didactic lecture, workshop and simulation-based methods to teach prescription analysis was successful at improving first year pharmacy students' knowledge, confidence, and application of these skills.

Tramadol is one of the most commonly used analgesics worldwide, classified as having a low abuse potential by U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and often recommended in pain management guidelines. Its pain-relieving mechanism of action is attributed to mild μ-opioid receptor agonism, serotonin and norepinephrine mediated nociception modulation, and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, NMDAR, antagonism. However, recent case reports and case-control studies have shown an association between tramadol use and hypoglycemia. The growing concern over increasing tramadol use and unexpected side effects warranted a further comparative and quantitative analysis of tramadol adverse reactions. In this study we analyzed over twelve million reports from United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System and provided evidence of increased propensity for hypoglycemia in patients taking tramadol when compared to patients taking other opioids, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and drugs affecting NMDAR activity. Additionally, we identified that only methadone from the opioid cohort behaves similarly to tramadol and has an association with hypoglycemia.

Proton-pump inhibitors, PPIs, are considered effective therapy for stomach acid suppression due to their irreversible inhibition of the hydrogen/potassium pump in the gastric parietal cells. They are widely prescribed and are considered safe for over-the-counter use. Recent studies have shown an association between PPI use and Alzheimer dementia, while others have disputed that connection. We analyzed over ten million United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System reports, including over forty thousand reports containing PPIs, and provided evidence of increased propensity for memory impairment among PPI reports when compared to histamine-2 receptor antagonist control group. Furthermore, we found significant associations of PPI use with a wide range of neurological adverse reactions including, migraine, several peripheral neuropathies, and visual and auditory neurosensory abnormalities.

Introduction

The combination of opioids and central nervous system depressants such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates has an additive effect on the frequency of oversedation and respiratory depression requiring naloxone use in hospitalized patients. Gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) are frequently prescribed with opioids for their opioid-sparing and adjuvant analgesic effects. There is limited literature on the risk of respiratory depression due to the combination of opioids and gabapentinoids requiring naloxone administration.

Methods

This retrospective study evaluated patients who were prescribed opioids and at least one dose of naloxone between March 1, 2014 and September 30, 2016. The primary objective of this study was to compare the frequency of respiratory depression among patients who received naloxone and opioids (non-gabapentinoid group) with those who received naloxone, opioids, and gabapentinoids (gabapentinoid group). Secondary objectives included comparing the association of oversedation, using the Pasero Opioid-induced Sedation Scale, and various risk factors with those in the gabapentinoid group.

Results

A total of 153 patient episodes of naloxone administration (102 in the non-gabapentinoid and 51 in the gabapentinoid groups) in 125 unique patients were included in the study. For the primary objective, there were 33 episodes of respiratory depression associated with the non-gabapentinoid group (33/102=32.4%) versus 17 episodes of respiratory depression with the gabapentinoid group (17/51=33.3%) (p=0.128). Secondary objectives showed a significant association between respiratory depression and surgery in the previous 24 hours (p=0.036) as well as respiratory depression and age >65 years (p=0.031) for patients in the non-gabapentinoid group compared to the gabapentinoid group.

Conclusion

There was no significant association of respiratory depression in the gabapentinoid group versus the non-gabapentinoid group. There was an increased risk of respiratory depression in the gabapentinoid group, specifically in patients who had surgery within the previous 24 hours.

Background

Continuous morphine infusions (CMIs) treat pain and dyspnea at the end of life (EOL). CMIs may be initiated at an empiric rate and/or are rapidly escalated without proper titration.

Objective

The study objective was to evaluate CMI patterns at the EOL.

Methods

This single-center, retrospective chart review evaluated adult patients who died while receiving CMI at EOL. Patient demographics and opioid dosing information were extracted from an electronic medical record. Twenty-four hour IV morphine equivalent was calculated prior to CMI initiation and at the time of death.

Results

Of the 190 patient charts, 63.2% (n=120) received no bolus doses prior to CMI initiation. Mean 24-hour IV morphine equivalent prior to CMI initiation was 49.3 mg (range: 0-1200 mg, SD 384.9) and at time of death was 267.1 mg (12.0-5193.2 mg, SD 442.2), representing an increase of +442%. Mean CMI starting rate was 3.3 mg/hour (0.4-30.0 mg/hour, SD 3.6) with titration at time of death to a mean of 7.7 mg/hour (0.4-70.0 mg/hour, SD 9.4), representing an increase of +130%. Mean number of CMI rate adjustments was 2.5 (0-5, SD 3.3); and number of bolus doses administered between titrations was 4.2 (0-27, SD 4.8). Mean time from CMI initiation to death was 15.5 hours (0.05-126.9 hours, SD 21.7). There was a negative association between rate of infusion increase per hour and total number of hours on CMI (r=-0.2, p=0.0062).

Conclusions

Hospitalized patients at EOL had a much higher 24-hour IV morphine equivalents and CMI rates at time of death compared to CMI initiation. Variability was observed in the number of CMI rate adjustments and the number of bolus doses administered.

The scope of pharmacy practice has evolved over the last few decades to focus on the optimization of medication therapy. Despite this positive impact, the lack of reimbursement remains a significant barrier to the implementation of innovative pharmacist practice models. We describe the successful development, implementation and outcomes of three types of pharmacist collaborative care models: (1) a pharmacist with physician oversight, (2) pharmacist-interprofessional teams and (3) physician-pharmacist teams. The outcome measurement of these pharmacist care models varied from the design phase to patient volume measurement and to comprehensive quality dashboards. All of these practice models have been successfully funded by affiliated health systems or grants. The expansion of pharmacist services delivered by clinical faculty has several benefits to affiliated health systems: (1) significant improvements in patient care quality, (2) access to experts in specialty areas, and (3) the dissemination of outcomes with national and international recognition, increasing the visibility of the health system.