Hospital pharmacy

Background: Headache is a debilitating complication following an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Despite its impact on morbidity and quality of life, limited evidence characterizes the effectiveness of opioids. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate opioid associated reduction in pain scores in patients with aSAH-associated headache. Methods: This is a retrospective study of adult patients with an aSAH, Hunt and Hess grades I - III, admitted to a neurosciences intensive care unit. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to characterize headache treatment strategies and opioid associated reduction in pain scores...

BACKGROUND: There have been sharp increases in antidepressant and opioid prescriptions over the last 10 years, as well as increased over-the-counter medicine availability. However, the impact on childhood medicinal poisonings rates, particularly by socioeconomic deprivation is unclear. This study reports population level medicinal poisoning substance patterns in England among children aged 0-11 years, helping inform safety advice and poisoning prevention interventions. METHODS: An open cohort study of 1,489,620 0-11 year olds was conducted from 1998 to 2018, using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, to examine inpatient hospital admissions for poisoning...

BACKGROUND: Macro and meso level factors that influence the participation by clinical pharmacists in ward rounds include pharmacy management culture, commitment to ward rounds and adequate time for ward rounds being included in workload models. The 'micro' level factors that affect the involvement of clinical pharmacists in ward rounds have not been widely explored. OBJECTIVE: Explore 'micro' level factors to gain insight into clinical pharmacists' participation in interprofessional ward rounds in inpatient settings through the lens of social cognitive theory...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Pazopanib is a multi-kinase inhibitor used to treat advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma and advanced soft tissue tumors; however, side effects such as diarrhea and hypertension have been reported, and dosage adjustment based on drug concentration in the blood is necessary. However, measuring pazopanib concentrations in blood using the existing methods is time-consuming; and current dosage adjustments are made using the results of blood samples taken at the patient's previous hospital visit (approximately a month prior)...

OBJECTIVES: Drug shortages are of increasing concern to worldwide public health. The consequences of drug shortages for patient safety have been little studied, especially from a pharmacovigilance point of view. In this context, the network of French pharmacovigilance centres conducted the CIRUPT study (Conséquences Iatrogènes des RUPTures de stock/iatrogenic consequences of drug shortages) based on a prospective campaign of adverse effects occurring in the context of drug shortage notifications...

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in medical therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), major gaps in medication adherence to guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMT) remain. Greater continuity of care may impact medication adherence and reduced hospitalizations. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of adults with a diagnosis of HF and EF≤40% with ≥2 outpatient encounters between 1/1/2017 and 10/1/2021, prescribed ≥1 of the following GDMT: 1) Beta Blocker, 2) Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor/Angiotensin Receptor Blocker/Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibitor, 3) Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist, 4) Sodium Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor...

BACKGROUND: Improper compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) in surgery is associated with an increased risk of surgical site infection (SSI), and impacts the efficiency of healthcare. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the impact of an intervention in compliance with AP in selected surgical procedures and its effect on antibiotic consumption and cost. METHODS: A prospective interventional study was performed in a community hospital from January to December 2022...

INTRODUCTION: Tafamidis is the first drug approved by the European Commission for the treatment of wild-type or hereditary transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) in adults to reduce cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular-related hospitalization. Real-world treatment patterns of tafamidis 61 mg in Germany are not well studied in patients with ATTR-CM. METHODS: This was a non-interventional, retrospective, observational cohort study of adult patients in Germany based on the IQVIA pharmacy claims database (IQVIA™ LRx)...

DISCLAIMER: 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. PURPOSE: This report describes the step-by-step process that led to expansion of ambulatory care pharmacy services at a newly established internal medicine clinic within a patient-centered medical home in North Carolina...

The impact of goals-of-care programs on acute hospitalization costs is unclear. We compared the hospitalization cost in an 8-month period before implementation of a multimodal interdisciplinary goals-of-care program (1 May 2019 to 31 December 2019) to an 8-month period after program implementation (1 May 2020 to 31 December 2020). Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for differences in potential covariates. The primary outcome was total direct cost during the hospital stay for each index hospitalization...

Receipt of nebulised pentamidine in people with HIV was audited to identify if individuals were appropriately receiving nebulised pentamidine, and whether national guidelines were being followed when prophylaxis was commenced and discontinued. Of 76 people with who received nebulised pentamidine, the main indication for starting nebulised pentamidine was a co-trimoxazole adverse drug reaction. Co-trimoxazole desensitization was not attempted before starting nebulised pentamidine. The main indication for stopping nebulised pentamidine prophylaxis was when immune reconstitution occurred...

Transitions of care often lead to medication errors and unnecessary healthcare utilization. Medication reconciliation has been repeatedly shown to reduce this risk. However, the great majority of evidence is limited to the provision of medication reconciliation within clinical trials and countries with well-established clinical pharmacy. Thus, this pragmatic, prospective, controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of routine pharmacist-led medication reconciliation compared to standard care on medication errors and unplanned healthcare utilization in adult general medical patients hospitalized in a teaching hospital in Slovenia...

OBJECTIVE: To determine how a large scale, multicomponent, pharmacy based intervention to reduce proton pump inhibitor (PPI) overuse affected prescribing patterns, healthcare utilization, and clinical outcomes. DESIGN: Difference-in-difference study. SETTING: US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, in which one regional network implemented the overuse intervention and all 17 others served as controls. PARTICIPANTS: All individuals receiving primary care from 2009 to 2019...

OBJECTIVE: From 1995, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) has regularly investigated the progress of the hospital pharmacy profession in Europe, and identified key barriers and drivers of this. The most recent 'Investigation of the Hospital Pharmacy Profession in Europe' was conducted from November 2022 to March 2023. METHODS: The online questionnaire was sent to all hospital pharmacies in EAHP member countries. The investigation was drafted using the same questions as the 2015 baseline survey...

OBJECTIVES: Medication errors (MEs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the healthcare system. Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) are potentially more susceptible to MEs due to severity of illness, the complexity of treatments they receive and the challenging nature of the ICU setting. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists established a Special Interest Group (SIG) to undertake a programme of work to develop and prioritise recommendations to support medication safety improvement in ICUs across Europe...

In 2008 in the Netherlands the Guideline 'Transmission of medication in the chain' was published. This guideline described that upon admission and discharge in the hospital verification of medication should take place. This caused significant investments in staff by hospitals to meet with this guideline. However, despite these efforts 15 years later this has not led to adequate transmission of medication. In this article it is described that the organization of medication verification in hospitals has features of the Risk Regulation Reflex...

BACKGROUND: Due to COVID-19, pharmacists have been exposed to a variety of dangers that have an impact on their mental health. The study highlights that impact of COVID-19 and work led to burnout among them. Thus, it is necessary to offer mental health services. AIMS: To assess the impact of COVID-19 on the work of pharmacy professionals and ascertain the extent of the influence of burnout on mental health among pharmacists working as frontline health providers in Nepal...

BACKGROUND: The choice of inhaler device type can play a crucial role in managing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). With various devices available, differences in choice and application may lead to confusion for both prescribers and patients. Furthermore, improper use of a device may lead to suboptimal or inadequate treatment. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to identify factors that prescribers consider when selecting an inhaler device for a patient...

BACKGROUND: Drug poisoning, either intentional or non-intentional, is a frequent diagnosis in the emergency department (ED), necessitating patient management from multiple services. OBJECTIVE: To describe the drug poisonings seen in the ED of a large academic urban hospital. METHODS: This retrospective descriptive study used 3 years of data (2018-2020) abstracted from the hospital's electronic medical record system and linked to validated, coded extracts from the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database...