American Pharmacists Association

About: American Pharmacists Association is a other organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Pharmacist & Pharmacy. The organization has 2413 authors who have published 1969 publications receiving 30470 citations. The organization is also known as: APhA & American Pharmaceutical Association.

The potential for using a Universal Medication Schedule (UMS) to improve adherence in patients taking multiple medications in the UK: a qualitative evaluation

Abstract: Poor adherence to prescribed medication has major consequences. Managing multiple long-term conditions often involves polypharmacy, potentially increasing complexity and the possibility of poor adherence. As a result of the globally recognised problems in supporting adherence to medication, some researchers have proposed the use of reminder charts. The main aim of the research was to explore the need for and perceptions around the ‘Universal Medication Schedule’ (UMS). Looking at ways in which pharmacists and General Practitioners (GPs) could use the UMS in NHS settings. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 10 GPs, 10 community pharmacists and 15 patients. Patients were aged 65 years and over, had multiple long-term conditions and were prescribed at least 5 medications. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and thematic analysis was conducted, using a framework approach to manage the data. Attitudes towards the UMS were mixed with stakeholders seeing benefits and limitations to the chart. Practitioners proposed a number of existing services where they thought the UMS could easily be integrated but there was evidence of role conflict with GPs feeling it may be best placed with pharmacists and vice versa. The potential for the UMS to be used as a tool to aid communication between the different services involved in a patient’s care was a key theme. The UMS chart provides consolidated medicines information that might help to improve patients’ knowledge and health literacy, which may or may not improve adherence but could help patients in making informed decisions about their treatment. One of the key benefits of using the UMS in practice is that it could be introduced across services. In this way it may aid in medicines reconciliation between healthcare settings to ensure continuity of message, improve patient experience and create more joined up working between services. Further research is needed to test implementation in different services and to assess outcomes on patient understanding and adherence.

Amphotericin B is Incompatible with Lipid Emulsions

Abstract: TOTHEEDITOR: Liposomal amphotericin B has proved to be a valuable drug for treating severe systemic fungal infections. The nephrotoxicity of the liposomal formulation is considerably reduced compared with that of a conventional preparation, but the cost is much higher. It has been suggested that amphotericin B could be added to a lipid emulsion, and decreased nephrotoxicity of such preparations has been reported.i-sHowever, the pharmaceutical quality of mixtures of amphotericin B and lipid emulsions is highly questionable. We have observed that a yellow precipitate starts to form wtihin 2 hours after preparing a mixture of 45 mg of amphotericin B and 500 mL of fat emulsion. Amphotericin B is practically insoluble in water, and is therefore used as a colloidal dispersion. This colloidal dispersion is very sensitive to electrolytes, and addition of amphotericin B to NaCI 0.9% causes precipitation of the drug.' Even if we do not know how the constituents of a fat emulsion affect the solubility of amphotericin B, the fact that we observed a yellow precipitate indicates that the mixture is not stable. We therefore decided to check whether the concentration of amphotericin B in lipid emulsion changes during infusion. Methods. A solution of amphotericin B was prepared byadding 10mLof steri e waterto amphotericin B for infusion 50 mg.Ninemilliliters of this solution, corresponding to 45 mgof amphotericin B, wasaddedto 500mLof lipidemulsion200mglmL. Themixture wasdelivered at a rateof 83 mLperhourusing an infusion pump. Samples of theeffluent were collected ninetimesduring a 6-hour period. Theconcentration of amphotericin B ineachsample wasdetermined by HPLC asdescribed by Margosis andAszalos.' Theexperiment wasperformed in duplicate. Results, The concentration of amphotericin B was equal to the expected value in the sample taken directly after preparation of the mixture, but the concentration had decreased considerably in the sample collected after just 1-1.5 hours (Figure I). The decrease continued, and at the end of the 6-hour infusion period only about 56% of the expected dose would actually have been administered to the patient. All the remaining amphotericin B had accumulated in the few milliliters of fat emulsion that was left in the bottle and in the tubing. The duplicate experiments gave identical results. We conclude that amphotericin B is incompatible with lipid emulsion. The reduced toxicity that has been reported when using amphotericin B in a lipid emulsion may be because the dose administered was lower than intended. It may be possible to use the amphotericin B-lipid emulsion mixture if the infusion time is short, but this should be verified by determining the drug concentration in the patient's blood.

Niclosamide as an anti-obesity drug: an experimental study.

Abstract: Niclosamide is a well-known anthelminthic drug that exert its effects at least in part through induction of mitochondrial uncoupling. The cycling of mitochondrial proton plays an essential role in regulation of basal metabolic rate, so modulation of mitochondrial uncoupling may be helpful approach to fight obesity. To assess the anti-obesity effects of niclosamide on mice with induced obesity. Thirty male Albino mice, 8–10 weeks old, were divided randomly and equally in to three groups; Group 1 fed with standard diet, whereas both Groups 2 and 3 were fed with high fat diet (HFD). At 10 weeks, the studied groups continue in the same type of diet as before for another 4 weeks, but additionally both of Group1 and 2 received placebo treatment as normal control and high fat diet control respectively, whereas Group 3 received oral niclosamide (140 mg/kg/day) as treatment group. The anti-obesity effects of niclosamide were evaluated by testing its effects on food intake, bodyweight, glycemic indices, and lipid profile. It was found that administration of niclosamide 140 mg/kg/day to HFD fed mice (Group3) for 4 weeks resulted in significant (P < 0.05) decline in the food intake and bodyweight of this group as compared with HFD control. Furthermore, niclosamide also resulted in significant (P < 0.05) lowering of the fasting blood glucose, fasting plasma insulin and improve insulin resistance. Likewise, niclosamide ameliorates the harmful effects of HFD on lipid profile by significant lowering of cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL (P < 0.05). Niclosamide has promising effects as an anti-obesity drug. It not just lowers bodyweight in mice, but, at the same time, it reverses metabolic disturbance induced by obesity.

Parecoxib for Parenteral Analgesia in Postsurgical Patients

Abstract: OBJECTIVETo review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy and safety studies, adverse effects, drug interactions, and dosage and administration of parecoxib sodium, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor.DATA SOURCESInformation was obtained from MEDLINE searches of the English-language literature (1996—May 2003). Search terms included parecoxib, parecoxib sodium, SC-69124A, and selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor.STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTIONWe reviewed available literature, which included abstracts, clinical trials, and data on file with the manufacturer.DATA SYNTHESISParecoxib sodium is a novel selective COX-2 inhibitor under development for parenteral administration. It has produced efficacious analgesia following dental, gynecologic, and orthopedic surgery. The adverse effect profile has been compared with that of ketorolac; no statistically significant differences were identified. There are no documented drug interactions when parecoxib is coadministered with midazolam, ...

A Descriptive Analysis of Location of Older Adult Falls That Resulted in Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2015:

Abstract: Introduction. Falls among older adults (age ≥65) are a common and costly health issue. Knowing where falls occur and whether this location differs by sex and age can inform prevention strategies. O...