Outpatient antibiotic stewardship during the COVID-19 era: analysis of prescribing trends and guideline compliance.

Objective: To analyze antibiotic prescribing trends and guideline concordance in outpatient settings using electronic health records (EHRs).

Design: This quality improvement study utilized data from the Collaboration to Harmonize Antimicrobial Registry Measures (CHARM) database, which integrates antibiotic prescribing data extracted from the EHRs of various outpatient facilities.

Setting: The study was conducted across 352 outpatient facilities in the United States.

Changes in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Students' Clinical Interventions Before, During, and After COVID-19.

Objective: To describe the differences in advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students' clinical interventions, including the number of interventions, characterization, and acceptance, before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Fourth-year student pharmacists for 3 faculty preceptors on inpatient internal medicine APPEs at a large, urban community medical center documented clinical interventions in an online database from May 2018 through April 2024. The database captured information related to the APPE block, preceptor, intervention category, intervention description, potential benefits, outcomes, and references.

Comparative Efficacy of Initial Statin and Ezetimibe Combination versus Statin Monotherapy on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an initial combination therapy of statin and ezetimibe compared with statin monotherapy on major cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with diabetes.

Methods: In this population-based cohort study using National Health Insurance Service data (2010-2020), we included adults with diabetes who had not previously used any lipid-lowering medications. Those initiating statin monotherapy were matched 1:1 using propensity scores with patients starting combination therapy with a lower-potency statin and ezetimibe.

Effects of choline alfoscerate on cognitive function and quality of life in type 2 diabetes: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Aims: This study evaluated the effects of choline alfoscerate on cognitive function and quality of life in T2DM patients with mild cognitive decrements.

Materials And Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited 36 individuals with T2DM and mild cognitive impairment which was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 25-28, and randomly assigned them to receive either 1200 mg/day of choline alfoscerate or a placebo. Four additional questionnaires-the 36-Item Short Form Survey, the modified Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, the Korean version of Activities of Daily Living, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-were investigated at 6 and 12 months and analysed via mixed-effects models for repeated measures.

Long-term comparison of renal and metabolic outcomes after sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist therapy in type 2 diabetes.

Background: Renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes following treatment with sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RAs) have not been directly compared. This study compared the impact of SGLT2i and GLP1RA therapy on renal function and metabolic parameters.

Methods: Patients with type 2 diabetes who initiated SGLT2i or GLP1RA therapy in a tertiary hospital between January 2009 and August 2023 were included to assess composite renal outcomes, such as a 40% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), onset of end-stage renal disease, renal death, or new-onset macroalbuminuria.

The Role of Cilostazol, a Phosphodiesterase-3 Inhibitor, in the Development of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology: A Review with Meta-Analysis.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) stands as the leading global cause of mortality. Addressing this vital and pervasive condition requires a multifaceted approach, in which antiplatelet intervention plays a pivotal role, together with antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and lipid-lowering therapies. Among the antiplatelet agents available currently, cilostazol, a phosphodiesterase-3 inhibitor, offers a spectrum of pharmacological effects.

Two-Year Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety of Initial Triple Combination of Metformin, Sitagliptin, and Empagliflozin in Drug-Naïve Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients.

Backgruound: We investigated the long-term efficacy and safety of initial triple therapy using metformin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, and a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: We enrolled 170 drug-naïve patients with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level >7.5% who had started triple therapy (metformin, sitagliptin, and empagliflozin).

Cardiovascular efficacy and safety of antidiabetic agents: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Aim: An important characteristic of glucose-lowering therapies (GLTs) is their ability to prevent cardiovascular complications. We aimed to investigate the cardiorenal efficacy and general safety of GLTs.

Materials And Methods: Multicentre, randomized, clinical trials that included over 100 participants comparing antidiabetic agents with a placebo or a different antidiabetic agent and reporting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), or primarily reporting heart failure, were searched in the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases.

Vascular and metabolic effects of ipragliflozin versus sitagliptin (IVS) in type 2 diabetes treated with sulphonylurea and metformin: IVS study.

Objective: In patients with type 2 diabetes who were inadequately controlled with metformin and sulphonylurea, we compared the glucose-lowering efficacy, cardiometabolic parameters and safety of two drugs, ipragliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, and sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with 7.5%-9.

Young Adults' Electronic Cigarette Use and Perceptions of Risk.

In the United States 18.6% of college students between 19-and 22-years old report e-cigarette use in the last 30 days. Information regarding e-cigarette use and perceptions in this age group may assist in understanding how to decrease initiation of e-cigarettes in a population that may otherwise not use nicotine.

Effects of Initial Combinations of Gemigliptin Plus Metformin Compared with Glimepiride Plus Metformin on Gut Microbiota and Glucose Regulation in Obese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: The INTESTINE Study.

The efficacy and safety of medications can be affected by alterations in gut microbiota in human beings. Among antidiabetic medications, incretin-based therapy such as dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors might affect gut microbiomes, which are related to glucose metabolism. This was a randomized, controlled, active-competitor study that aimed to compare the effects of combinations of gemigliptin−metformin vs.

The Impact of Naloxone Coprescribing Mandates on Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths.

Introduction: Since 2017, a total of 10 states have mandated naloxone coprescribing intended to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. This study aims to assess the association between naloxone coprescribing/offering mandates and opioid-involved overdose deaths on the basis of the opioid type.

Methods: Data on overdose deaths from 1999 to 2020 came from the National Center for Health Statistics CDC WONDER Online Database.

Development and Initial Evaluation of an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Readiness Assessment Plan.

To describe the composition of an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) readiness assessment plan (APPE-RAP) along with initial findings following retrospective application to a cohort of students. The APPE-RAP uses existing summative assessment data within the ExamSoft platform on six skills and 12 ability-based outcomes from the pre-APPE curriculum. Thresholds were created to sort students into three readiness categories for skills and knowledge, determine overall readiness, and identify need for curricular review.

Medicaid expansion and access to naloxone in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.

Purpose: The opioid crisis remains a major public health concern in the United States. Naloxone is used to reverse opioid overdoses. This study examined Medicaid expansion on naloxone prescriptions in retail pharmacies in metropolitan (metro) and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas (2011-2017).

How to cope with emerging viral diseases: lessons from South Korea's strategy for COVID-19, and collateral damage to cardiometabolic health.

South Korea is a unique country in many aspects in terms of its strategy against the COVID-19 pandemic. From February 2020, the South Korean government adopted active epidemiological investigations, strict isolation of affected patients, and extensive public lockdowns, which were helpful in controlling spread until the end of 2021. This stable situation in South Korea has changed dramatically since the Omicron variant-reportedly less severe but more infective than the original strain-became dominant from January 2022.

Cilostazol treatment for preventing adverse cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary atherosclerosis: Long-term follow-up of the ESCAPE study.

Background: Previously, in the ESCAPE study, a randomized controlled trial, we found that 12 months of cilostazol administration significantly decreased coronary artery stenosis and the noncalcified plaque component compared with aspirin. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the effect of cilostazol treatment on cardiovascular events up to 7 years after the end of the original study.

Methods: After the end of the ESCAPE study with patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and mild to moderate coronary artery stenosis, we decided to extend the ESCAPE study to investigate the long-term effect of cilostazol and aspirin, named the ESCAPE-extension study.

Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum LMT1-48 on Body Fat in Overweight Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: We investigated whether Lactobacillus plantarum strain LMT1-48, isolated from Korean fermented foods and newborn feces, is a suitable probiotic supplement to treat overweight subjects.

Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 100 volunteers with a body mass index of 25 to 30 kg/m2 were assigned randomly (1:1) to receive 2×1010 colony forming units of LMT1-48 or to a placebo treatment group. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and abdominal visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area were measured by computed tomography scanning.

Efficacy and Safety of K50 on Lipids in Koreans With Obesity: A Randomized, Double-Blind Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background: Only few studies have investigated the role of probiotics in the development of obesity. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of an intake of K50 () on body fat and lipid profiles in people with obesity.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial involved 81 adults with a body mass index of 25-30 kg/m who were assigned randomly to a diet including 4 × 10 colony-forming unit of or a placebo.

Metabolomic Signatures for the Effects of Weight Loss Interventions on Severe Obesity in Children and Adolescents.

Childhood obesity has increased worldwide, and many clinical and public interventions have attempted to reduce morbidity. We aimed to determine the metabolomic signatures associated with weight control interventions in children with obesity. Forty children from the "Intervention for Children and Adolescent Obesity via Activity and Nutrition (ICAAN)" cohort were selected according to intervention responses.