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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
The Opioid Epidemic: How Genetics Play A Role In Addiction And Treatment, Kirsten Houston
The Opioid Epidemic: How Genetics Play A Role In Addiction And Treatment, Kirsten Houston
Honors College Theses
The opioid epidemic is an issue within the pharmaceutical industry in the United States of America due to prescription and non-prescription substances being made available to the population. Opioids include chemical substances that affect the body and brain through opioid receptors, including the mu, kappa, and delta receptors. These substances are derived and synthesized from the poppy plant. Multiple causes have been linked to opioid abuse disorder, including but not limited to employment, income, housing, nutrition, mental health disorders, and genetics. By gathering information from previous literature, genetics may be the main cause of narcotic analgesic tolerance and abuse. Specific …
Accuracy Of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring In Vancomycin And The Pharmacist Role: A Retrospective Case-Series, Kateryna Parkhomenko
Accuracy Of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring In Vancomycin And The Pharmacist Role: A Retrospective Case-Series, Kateryna Parkhomenko
Senior Theses
Vancomycin is a mainstay of therapy for treating virulent and resistant infections, especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, vancomycin requires therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for optimal dosing and treatment. This requires pharmacists to calculate a dosing regimen that correlates to appropriate goal vancomycin concentrations in the blood. Dosing vancomycin can be difficult, as it varies on a patient’s weight, renal function, age, etc. Doses may have to be adjusted in response to out-of-range concentrations, which requires further pharmacy calculations. Inaccurate dosing poses a risk to patient safety and places a resource and time burden on pharmacists. If vancomycin dosing methods …