Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

Covid-19: Race For Vaccine, L. Hayley Burgess, Jason J. Braithwaite, Emily Singleton, Aaron M. Young, Mandelin K. Cooper

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The world is in the midst of a pandemic from COVID-19, a disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. Despite broad mitigation efforts, new cases continue with 74 million cases and 1.6 million deaths worldwide. Regardless of previous research efforts, there is no commercially available vaccine for any coronavirus. Novel vaccine development has historically taken at least 10 years from discovery to availability with only a 6% market entry probability.

With the global impact, there is an urgency to expedite a vaccine to protect the population. The U.S. government launched Operation Warp Speed with the goal to produce and deliver 300 …

Importance Of Awareness Of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Heather Ellis, Hale Z. Toklu

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Health care professionals hold the responsibility of reporting any adverse drug reactions in order to learn about new therapy and how best to safely care for our patients. The information derived from case publications and FDA MedWatch reports are essential to accumulate information and increase awareness for the possible risks of new drugs.

Remdesivir-Warfarin Interaction: A Case Report, Kayihura Manigaba, Josh Hawks, Marie Kima

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

A greater than 65-year-old Caucasian woman receiving long-term anticoagulation with warfarin for atrial fibrillation experienced a sudden rise in an international normalized ratio (INR) after she was started on remdesivir for management of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Patient INR was maintained within the target therapeutic range of 2–3 with a warfarin dose of 11 mg/week before starting remdesivir. After 2 days of remdesivir therapy, the patient’s INR increased significantly and remained elevated during the 5 day course of remdesivir therapy. Patient required an interruption of her warfarin therapy for 7 days, and her INR did not return to the targeted …

Pharmacy Services Reboot Roadmap: Resiliency During The Covid-19 Pandemic, L. Hayley Burgess, Joan S. Kramer, Brian Moran, Mandelin Cooper, Christine Dunn, Edward Murray, Karla M. Miller

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Planning for resumption of patient care services during and following the impact of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) while controlling costs are essential for pharmacy services resiliency. Implementation of a pharmacy services reboot roadmap across a 179 hospital health-system is described. The roadmap encompassed eight key areas: pharmacy leadership, staffing and scheduling, clinical pharmacy services, medication safety, medication supply, regulatory and compliance, team support opportunities, and financial stewardship. A supporting checklist and volume-based staffing plan are included as examples to assist pharmacy leaders in planning optimal pharmacy services support as patient volumes increase, particularly in the emergency department, surgical services and …

Perampanel-Induced Cataplexy In A Young Male With Generalized Epilepsy, Kelsey Kenaan, Mohsin Zafar, Ronnie Bond, Barbara L. Gracious

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Perampanel (Fycompa) is a newer anti-epileptic drug believed to exert its effects in the central nervous system by inhibiting post-synaptic glutamate receptors. However, the precise therapeutic mechanism is unknown. The most common neuropsychiatric side effect is affective dysregulation; there are also reports of psychosis. We describe a 32 year old African American male with recurring generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizures, who presented to our hospital with onset of mood lability for several months, after Perampanel was added to his antiepileptic medications. Perampanel administration was temporarily withheld, and subsequently on restarting, noted to be coincident with neuropsychiatric symptomatology, including motor weakness in …

Cosmetovigilance: A New Concept For Residency Curriculum, Jennifer Jones, Hale Z. Toklu

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Primary care physicians need to incorporate “cosmetovigilance” into their post-graduate curriculum to increase their residents’ awareness of the adverse reactions induced by the use of cosmetic products, as well as promoting good reporting behavior.

The Other Epidemic, Bruce Deighton

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The epidemic level of opioid abuse in the U.S. population continues to present a major challenge to our society and to the medical profession. Medical education has a significant role in improving screening, diagnosis, appropriate treatment and management of opioid use disorder. Addressing the problem of overprescribing opioids through physician education, surveillance and opioid management has resulted in significant improvement, translating to fewer overdose deaths from prescription opioids. Graduate medical education can increase access to care by training more addiction medicine specialists, and training other physicians to prescribe buprenorphine and provide access to medically assisted care.