Clinical Pharmacy Discharge Counseling Service and the Impact on Readmission Rates in High-Risk Patients.

Background: A number of patient safety and transition of care initiatives have highlighted the benefits of incorporating a clinical pharmacist in the discharge medication process. Numerous studies have identified the prominent and consequential role of medication therapy errors occurring at hospital discharge. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a discharge medication counseling service on readmission rates, emergency department (ED) visits, and days to first readmission or ED visit in patients deemed high risk for hospital readmission. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted from October 2014 to December 2014 in adult patients admitted to a general medicine unit and identified as being at high risk for readmission. Endpoints were compared between patients who received discharge counseling (study group) and those who did not (control group). Results: Eighty-nine high-risk patient charts were reviewed. Forty-four patients were in the study group and 45 patients were in the control group. There were no differences between the baseline characteristics of both groups. There were no differences between the study and control groups in 30-day readmission rates (18.2% vs 26.7%; P = .45) and in 30-day ED visits (4.6% vs 11.1%; P = .43). The number of days to first readmission or ED visit between the study and control groups was 22 versus 12 (P = .26). Conclusion: Although no statistical difference was found between groups in this study, integration of a clinical pharmacist as part of an interdisciplinary approach in the discharge medication process resulted in numerical improvements in outcomes. Additional investigation is warranted to further highlight the potential benefits of this service.

Characterization of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone as a novel inhibitor of methionine aminopeptidases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pose a major public health threat. The 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that one in three HIV deaths is due to Mtb, the causative agent of Tuberculosis (TB). The lethal synergy between these two pathogens leads to a decline in the immune function of infected individuals as well as a rise in morbidity and mortality rates. The deadly interaction between TB and HIV, along with the heightened emergence of drug resistance, drug-drug interactions, reduced drug efficacy and increased drug toxicity, has made the therapeutic management of co-infected individuals a major challenge. Hence, the development of new drug targets and/or new drug leads are imperative for the effective therapeutic management of co-infected patients. Here, we report the characterization of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone (311), a known inhibitor of HIV-1 replication and transcription as a new inhibitor of methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: MtMetAP1a and MtMetAP1c. MetAP is a metalloprotease that removes the N-terminal methionine during protein synthesis. The essential role of MetAP in microbes makes it a promising chemotherapeutic target. We demonstrated that 311 is a potent and selective inhibitor of MtMetAP1a and MtMetAP1c. Furthermore, we found that 311 is active against replicating and aged non-growing Mtb at low micromolar concentrations. These results suggest that 311 is a promising lead for the development of novel class of therapeutic agents with dual inhibition of TB and HIV for the treatment of TB-HIV co-infection.