Other Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

Retrospective Evaluation Of Dosing Body Weight For Unfractionated Heparin In Obese Patients, Jingyang Fan, Billee John, Emily Tesdal

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Purpose: Using adjusted body weight (AdjBW) for heparin dosing in obese patients is a common but not validated clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether using AdjBW in obese patients would lead to quick achievement of therapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and low bleeding risk with heparin therapy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in patients that received heparin before and after implementation of a revised heparin protocol that utilized AdjBW for obese patients. The primary outcome was percentage of first aPTT values within the therapeutic range. Secondary outcomes included time to first therapeutic …

Utilization And Costs Of Compounded Medications For Commercially Insured Patients, 2012 – 2013, Timothy Mcpherson, Patrick Fontane Phd, Express Scripts Holding Company

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Background: Although compounding has a long-standing tradition in clinical practice, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers have instituted policies to decrease claims for compounded medications, citing questions about their safety, efficacy, high costs, and lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. There are no reliable published data on the extent of compounding by community pharmacists nor the fraction of patients who use compounded medications. Prior research suggests that compounded medications represent a relatively small proportion of prescription medications, but these surveys were limited by small sample sizes, subjective data collection methods, and low response rates.

Objective: To determine the number …

Monitoring Of Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (Opat) And Implementation Of Clinical Pharmacy Services At A Community Hospital Infusion Unit, Punit J. Shah, Scott Bergman, Donald Graham, Stephanie Glenn

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Background: In 2004, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) published monitoring guidelines for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT), but no assessment of their utilization has been reported. We evaluated adherence to these recommendations by physicians at infusion centers and then piloted a program of supervision of monitoring by pharmacists.

Methods: Phase I: We performed a retrospective case-control study of patients who received OPAT over one year at two hospital infusion centers. Controls were patients treated by an infectious diseases (ID) physician, and cases were those without an ID physician. Patients were excluded if they received fewer than …

Impact Of An Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention On Urinary Tract Infection Treatment In The Emergency Department, Kelly M. Percival, Kristine M. Valenti, Stacy E. Scmittling, Brandi D. Strader, Rebecka R. Lopez, Scott Bergman

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

STUDY OBJECTIVE:

The study objective is to assess changes in treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) after implementation of recommendations based on national guidelines and local resistance rates.

METHODS:

This preintervention and postintervention study included patients discharged home from the emergency department (ED) with an uncomplicated UTI at a 439-bed teaching hospital. Emergency department prescribers were educated on how local antimicrobial resistance rates impact UTI practice guidelines. Empiric treatment according to recommendations was assessed as the primary outcome. Agreement between chosen therapy and isolated pathogen susceptibility was compared before and after education. Reevaluation in the ED or hospital admission …