Successful Endovascular Therapy in COVID-19 Associated Pediatric Ischemic Stroke.

Cerebrovascular diseases attributed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are uncommon but can result in devastating outcomes. Pediatric acute ischemic strokes are themselves rare and with very few large vessel occlusion related acute ischemic strokes attributed to COVID-19 described in the literature as of date. COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to acute stroke care delays across the world and with pediatric endovascular therapy still in its infancy, it poses a great challenge in facilitating good outcomes in children presenting with acute ischemic strokes in the setting of COVID-19. We present a pediatric patient who underwent endovascular therapy for an internal carotid artery occlusion related acute ischemic stroke in the setting of active COVID-19 and had an excellent outcome thanks to a streamlined stroke pathway involving the vascular neurology, neuro-interventional, neurocritical care, and anesthesiology teams.

Impact of Delayed Oral Vancomycin for Severe Clostridium difficile Infection.

Background: Treatment of severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) with oral vancomycin (VAN) is known to be superior to treatment with metronidazole (MDZ). However, previous studies have not evaluated the impact on patients when oral VAN therapy is delayed after diagnosis of severe CDI. Materials and Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective study of adult patients who were diagnosed with severe CDI. The objective was to compare clinical outcomes for patients treated initially with oral VAN versus patients receiving delayed oral VAN after at least 48 hours of initial treatment with MDZ. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Results: There were 101 patients who comprised the initial oral VAN group, while 20 patients comprised the delayed oral VAN group. There was no significant difference in all-cause in-hospital mortality for patients in the initial oral VAN treatment group compared to those who had delayed oral VAN therapy (4.95% vs 15.00%, P = 0.13). Patients who were initially treated with oral VAN experienced a significantly higher rate of clinical cure (49.50% vs 20.00%, P = 0.02), shorter median postinfection length of hospitalization (7.0 days vs 13.0 days, P < 0.001), shorter median time to resolution of leukocytosis (3.9 days vs 10.4 days, P = 0.01), and were less likely to have an end of treatment serum creatinine greater than 1.5 times their baseline (8.7% vs 29.4%, P = 0.03). Conclusion: Patients who receive oral VAN as their initial treatment for severe CDI experience improved clinical outcomes compared to patients receiving delayed oral VAN after being initially treated with MDZ.

Pharmacological Management and Prevention Of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Hospitalized Patients.

Rapid-acting bronchodilators, systemic corticosteroids, and antibiotics are among the keys to managing exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Preventing exacerbations should also be a component of therapy for the disease.

Impact of Student Pharmacist State Anxiety on Vasopressor Calculation Accuracy in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Simulations.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of student pharmacist state anxiety on vasopressor calculation accuracy in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) simulations. METHODS: Third-year professional students participated in 2 ACLS-related simulation laboratory sessions. In week 1, students completed 3 calculations at their workstation with no stressors. Students were then randomized into teams for a bedside simulation where they independently completed 3 additional calculations either with or without stressors. Team assignments were maintained for week 2 where all participants completed a high-fidelity ACLS simulation that included a team vasopressor calculation. At both encounters, calculation accuracy was assessed as well as pre- and post-state anxiety using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) survey tool. RESULTS: Students' (N = 145) trait anxiety aligned with normative data for similarly aged professional students. Post-simulation state anxiety in week 1 was found to be higher for those completing the activity with stressors than without (STAI score 44.7 vs 36.9) paired with lower bedside calculation accuracy, despite similar initial workstation calculation accuracy. In week 2, pre-simulation state anxiety score and calculation accuracy were not significantly different between the 2 groups. However, the state anxiety score significantly increased post-simulation for those exposed to stress in the previous week. CONCLUSION: Stress negatively impacted student pharmacist vasopressor calculation accuracy. However, the repeated exposure to a stressed simulation did not result in a significant difference in pre- or post-simulation state anxiety score or calculation accuracy when compared to a non-stressed control. Consideration should be made whether to include more "real-life" simulations in student pharmacist education.

Spirometry: tool for pharmacy practitioners to expand direct patient care services.

OBJECTIVES: To introduce pharmacy practitioners to spirometry testing and provide strategies for integrating this "value-added" tool with other direct patient care pharmacy services. DATA SOURCES: Spirometry literature and resources obtained through search strategies including Ovid, PubMed, and Google Scholar. SUMMARY: Pharmacists are distinctive members of the multidisciplinary patient care team and can contribute by performing spirometry services for pulmonary patients. Pharmacists have been largely absent from performing this much needed service, perhaps as a result of lack of training or because this testing may be perceived as irrelevant to the pharmacist scope of practice. However, pharmacists are actively integrated with many aspects of pulmonary patient care, including recommending and adjusting inhaled pharmacological agents, monitoring for potential drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, recommending smoking cessation, assessing patient prescription insurance coverage, and educating patients, caregivers, and health care providers on use of prescribed respiratory delivery devices. Adding quality spirometry services, based on American Thoracic Society guidelines for accuracy, would increase the breadth and depth of services for pharmacy practitioners. CONCLUSION: Spirometry testing is an added tool for expanding direct patient care pharmacy services. Physician support, appropriate pharmacist training, and understanding of reimbursement of spirometry services are essential in providing quality spirometry testing. Future studies are needed to assess the role of pharmacists in performing spirometry and measuring the performance outcomes of pulmonary patients.

Electrolyte disturbances associated with commonly prescribed medications in the intensive care unit.

Electrolyte imbalances are common in critically ill patients. Although multiple disease states typically encountered in the intensive care unit may be responsible for the development of electrolyte disorders, medications may contribute to these disturbances as well. Medications can interfere with the absorption of electrolytes, alter hormonal responses affecting homeostasis, as well as directly impact organ function responsible for maintaining electrolyte balance. The focus on this review is to identify commonly prescribed medications in the intensive care unit and potential electrolyte disturbances that may occur as a result of their use. This review will also discuss the postulated mechanisms associated with these drug-induced disorders. The specific drug-induced electrolyte disorders discussed in this review involve abnormalities in sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, and magnesium. Clinicians encountering electrolyte disturbances should be vigilant in monitoring the patient's medications as a potential etiology. Insight into these drug-induced disorders should allow the clinician to provide optimal medical management for the critically ill patient, thus improving overall healthcare outcomes.

Using lean principles to introduce intraoperative navigation for scoliosis surgery.

AIMS: Intraoperative 3D navigation (ION) allows high accuracy to be achieved in spinal surgery, but poor workflow has prevented its widespread uptake. The technical demands on ION when used in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) are higher than for other more established indications. Lean principles have been applied to industry and to health care with good effects. While ensuring optimal accuracy of instrumentation and safety, the implementation of ION and its associated productivity was evaluated in this study for AIS surgery in order to enhance the workflow of this technique. The aim was to optimize the use of ION by the application of lean principles in AIS surgery. METHODS: A total of 20 consecutive patients with AIS were treated with ION corrective spinal surgery. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed with real-time modifications. Operating time, scan time, dose length product (measure of CT radiation exposure), use of fluoroscopy, the influence of the reference frame, blood loss, and neuromonitoring were assessed. RESULTS: The greatest gains in productivity were in avoiding repeat intraoperative scans (a mean of 248 minutes for patients who had two scans, and a mean 180 minutes for those who had a single scan). Optimizing accuracy was the biggest factor influencing this, which was reliant on incremental changes to the operating setup and technique. CONCLUSION: The application of lean principles to the introduction of ION for AIS surgery helps assimilate this method into the environment of the operating theatre. Data and stakeholder analysis identified a reproducible technique for using ION for AIS surgery, reducing operating time, and radiation exposure. Cite this article: Bone Joint J. 2020;102-B(1):5-10.

Advanced cardiac life support certification for student pharmacists improves simulated patient survival.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Basic life support (BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) skills performance, as well as simulated patient survival, were compared for student pharmacist teams with and without at least one member with American Heart Association (AHA) ACLS certification. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Doctor of pharmacy students in their third professional year completed a high-fidelity mannequin simulation. Within the previous year, 30 of 184 students (16%) completed ACLS certification. Rapid response teams (n = 31) of five to six members were formed through random student assignment. Two AHA instructors recorded and assessed performance using a checklist adapted from the AHA's standardized forms for BLS and ACLS assessment. Teams with and without ACLS certified members were compared for skills performance and simulated patient survival (i.e. correct performance of all BLS and ACLS skills). FINDINGS: Teams with ACLS certified members (n = 21) were superior to teams without certified members (n = 10) for correct performance of all observed BLS and ACLS skills, including pulse assessment and medication selection for cardiovascular support. For teams who had ACLS certified members, simulated patient survival was 86% higher. The study groups did not differ in their ability to calculate a correct vasopressor infusion rate if warranted. SUMMARY: BLS and ACLS skills performance were improved by AHA ACLS certification. Additionally, simulated patient survival was improved for teams with students who had at least one ACLS certified member.

Advanced Modes of Mechanical Ventilation: Introduction for the Critical Care Pharmacist.

Mechanical ventilation continues to be an evolving modality in the critical care environment. Technological advances in microprocessor-controlled ventilation integrated with the complexity of new ventilator modes has provided the multidisciplinary team opportunities to further improve the care of the critically ill ventilator patients. As members of the critical care multidisciplinary team, pharmacists require a basic understanding of both conventional and advanced modes of mechanical ventilation in order to assist in optimizing medication use and ultimately patient health-care outcomes. Pharmacists have a key responsibility to practice vigilance to maintain safe drug therapy use by preventing drug-drug or drug-disease interactions and optimal dose selection based upon pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics principles. Pharmacists also assist in the development of drug utilization guidelines and pharmacological ventilator-weaning protocols based upon evidence-based practice. The result of these responsibilities must include the continued longitudinal assessment and reporting of quality measures to assess ventilator weaning, time to liberation of mechanical ventilation, and length of care in intensive care unit. The purpose of this article is to provide the clinical pharmacist a guide to a basic understanding of advanced modes of mechanical ventilation in adults and to apply the knowledge gained to assist in the care of the critical care patients.

Impact of a Pharmacist-driven Spirometry Clinic Service within a Community Family Health Center: A 5-year Retrospective Review.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to describe the impact of a trained pharmacist in performing quality spirometry testing within a community family health center. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cohort study of 150 physician-referred patients who attended their scheduled spirometry office appointment between November 2008 and December 2013. Information obtained included type of the disease (patients with obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease), calculated lung age decline due to smoking history, quality of spirometry testing, and percentage of patients requiring pulmonary drug regimen alterations due to spirometry results. Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics were used to address study objectives. FINDINGS: Spirometry testing performed by a pharmacist resulted in 87% of tests meeting guidelines for quality. Testing identified patients with reversible airway disease (39%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (21%), restrictive (11%), and mixed obstructive/restrictive (11%) lung defect. Patients with abnormal spirometry demonstrated a greater smoking pack-year history and calculated lung age than patients with normal spirometry (29.1 pack-years vs. 17 pack-years; P = 0.024 and 76.3 years vs. 54.6 years; P < 0.001, respectively). A weak correlation was found between a 29.1 smoking pack-year history and forced vital capacity (r = -0.3593, P = 0.018). The pharmacist assisted in modifying pulmonary drug regimens in 69% of patients based on evidence-based guidelines. CONCLUSION: A pharmacist-driven spirometry service was associated with quality testing results, identified respiratory disease abnormalities, and helped modifications of pulmonary drug regimens based on evidence-based guidelines. Future direction of this service may include collaborative practice agreements with physicians to expand services of pharmacists to include spirometry testing.

Performance and retention of basic life support skills improve with a peer-led training program.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Pharmacy students' performance and retention of Basic Life Support (BLS) skills were evaluated 120 days after completion of a peer-led BLS training program. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: This was a single-center, parallel group, observational study. Doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students in their third professional year completed a peer-led BLS training program (n = 148) and participated in a high-fidelity mannequin simulation activity 120 days later. Students were randomly assigned to rapid response teams (n = 24) of five to six members and the American Heart Association's standardized form for BLS assessment was used to assess BLS skills performance. The performance of skills was compared to that of students two years prior to the implementation of the peer-led BLS program. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: Students who received peer-led BLS training demonstrated retention of BLS skills 120 days after the BLS training program. The teams also displayed significant improvement of the skills evaluated when compared to student teams prior to implementation of the peer-led training (n = 22). Improvement was demonstrated for assessment of responsiveness (96% vs. 41%, p < 0.001), assessment for breathing (100% vs. 32%, p < 0.001), assessment for pulse (96% vs. 36%, p < 0.001), and administration of appropriate ventilation (100% vs. 32%, p < 0.001). Numerical superiority was exhibited for high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) initiation by teams who received peer-led training (100% vs. 86%, p = 0.101). SUMMARY: Students who received peer-led BLS training demonstrated significant improvement in BLS skills performance and retention 120 days after the training program. Data suggests that peer-led BLS training can improve student BLS skills performance and retention.

Mechanical ventilation: a tutorial for pharmacists.

Mechanical ventilation is an integral part of the critical care environment and requires orchestration by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians to optimize therapeutic outcomes. By tradition, pharmacists have not been included on this team since this therapeutic modality is not considered relevant to their scope of practice. However, pharmacists play a critical role in the management of patients receiving mechanical ventilation by assisting in the development of institutional guidelines and protocols, by maintaining accuracy of prescribed drug dosages, by monitoring for drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, by assisting with alternative drug selections, and by maintaining continued quality assessment of drug administration. Pharmacists able to understand and integrate mechanical ventilation with the pharmacotherapeutic needs of patients are better qualified practitioners. The goal of this article is to help clinical pharmacists better understand the complexities of mechanical ventilation and to apply this information in optimizing delivery of pharmaceutical agents to critical care patients.

Hyponatremia: current treatment strategies and the role of vasopressin antagonists.

OBJECTIVE: Hyponatremia is a complex electrolyte disorder that results mainly from dysregulation of arginine vasopressin (AVP) by osmotic and nonosmotic mechanisms. Several populations, including the elderly, are at risk for the development of hyponatremia, and awareness of such risk factors can lead to an overall improvement in patient care. AVP receptor antagonists are promising new therapeutic options whose safety and efficacy have been clinically established for some forms of hyponatremia. DATA SOURCES: A search of MEDLINE (1967-March 2007) was conducted, using the search terms aquaporins, AVP, AVP receptor antagonists, conivaptan, hyponatremia, lixivaptan, and tolvaptan. Additionally, data were obtained from manufacturers' prescribing information. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All articles identified from the reference search and data sources were evaluated. Material was included in this review if it was relevant to the pathophysiology and management of euvolemic and hypervolemic hyponatremia in hospitalized patients. DATA SYNTHESIS: A large percentage of hospitalized patients are found to have symptomatic or asymptomatic hyponatremia. One study reported that 24.5% of intensive care patients admitted over a 3 month period experienced hyponatremia at some time during their hospitalization. Conventional management techniques include water restriction, demeclocycline, lithium, and urea, which have demonstrated variable efficacy and toxicity. AVP receptor antagonists, whose safety and efficacy have been established in clinical trials, are providing new therapeutic options. CONCLUSIONS: AVP receptor antagonists appear to be safe and effective for the treatment of patients with hyponatremia. With conivaptan recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in treating euvolemic and hypervolemic hyponatremia in hospitalized patients and lixivaptan and tolvaptan in the late stages of development, prudent use of these agents requires a thorough understanding of the clinical manifestations of hyponatremia to optimize therapeutic outcomes.

Intravenous linezolid administered orally: a novel desensitization strategy.

A 41-year-old woman with a history of myasthenia gravis was admitted to a local hospital because of severe muscle weakness, ptosis, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, and fever. Blood cultures revealed Enterococcus faecium resistant to several antimicrobial agents. The organism had minimum inhibitory concentrations above 16 microg/ml for vancomycin and above 2 microg/ml for quinupristin-dalfopristin. In the absence of therapeutic alternatives, treatment with linezolid was required (minimum inhibitory concentration 1.5 microg/ml). The first dose of linezolid resulted in a hypersensitivity reaction consistent with an immunoglobulin E-mediated response requiring medical intervention. Because of a lack of intravenous access and because of limited availability of the oral suspension from the manufacturer, a desensitization protocol was implemented in which the intravenous formulation of linezolid was given orally. The patient was successfully desensitized by using an escalating, 14-dose procedure. We believe this is the first case in the English language literature to describe successful desensitization with the oral administration of intravenous linezolid in a patient with E. faecium bacteremia who was allergic to oxazolidinone.

Pharmacist designed and nursing-driven insulin infusion protocol to achieve and maintain glycemic control in critical care patients.

The objective of the quality assessment was to develop and evaluate a modified nurse-driven insulin infusion protocol for intensive care unit patients and compare the hours needed to achieve a targeted glycemic range and duration within a goal range (80-110 mg/dL) to that of our traditional protocol. With our modified nurse-driven protocol, the median time to reach the goal for patients with diabetes was 11.5 hours versus 21.5 hours with the traditional protocol. Patients without diabetes reached the goal in 8 hours with the modified-nurse driven protocol versus 12 hours with the traditional protocol. Percentage of time within the goal improved from 14.6% to 20.7% for patients with diabetes and from 7% to 24.3% for patients without diabetes.

A systematic review of pharmacists performing obstructive sleep apnea screening services.

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic sleep disorder associated with a varying degree of upper airway collapse during sleep. Left untreated, OSA can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease including risk of stroke and increased mortality. Pharmacists are the most accessible and underutilized healthcare resource in the community and can have a significant role in screening patients for OSA. The result may include an expedited referral to the patient's general practitioners or sleep disorder specialists for further diagnostic assessment and therapeutic intervention. Aim of the review The primary aim of this review was to identify the current published evidence of pharmacists providing OSA screening services in a community pharmacy setting. Methods A literature search was conducted to identify evidence of pharmacists providing OSA screening services. The literature search including five databases [PubMed, (1946-January 2015), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to January 2015), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar] with search terms of ("pharmacist or pharmacy") AND ("obstructive sleep apnea") AND ("sleep disorders") AND ("continuous positive airway pressure-CPAP") were used. Articles were limited to English and reported in humans. Results A total of seven publications (four Australia, two Switzerland and one France) were selected and evaluated. Pharmacists utilized validated screening tools in 6/7 (86 %) of clinical studies to assist in the identification of patients with sleep disorders in community pharmacies. A total of 1701 pharmacies encompassing 9177 patients were screened in the clinical studies. Pharmacists were able to identify between 21.4 and 67 % of patients that were at risk for developing OSA or required a referral to a general practitioner or sleep disorder specialist for further diagnostic testing. Conclusion Studies assessing the role of pharmacists performing OSA screening services remains limited due to the small number of studies available and differences in methodological assessment. More qualitative studies including randomized controlled trials are needed to better identify the value of pharmacists providing this novel service.

New Therapeutic Paradigms and Guidelines in the Management of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Recent and ongoing developments in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) provide deeper insights into pathogenic mechanisms. Approvals of new pharmacotherapies that improve function and reduce morbidity and mortality risks; advances in clinical trial methods, including long-term, event-driven studies with clinically relevant and patient-centered endpoints; and trial results support a new therapeutic management strategy. This new paradigm involves initial treatment with combined therapies that act through different disease pathways. In addition, 2 new sets of clinical practice guidelines for PAH have been published since June 2014. Despite these advances, major gaps have been documented in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with PAH. OBJECTIVE: To present current knowledge and evidence on PAH to support managed care professionals and providers in achieving accurate differential diagnosis, promptly referring patients to specialists as necessary, and ensuring that patients receive appropriate, guideline-directed therapies. SUMMARY: Major gaps in the quality of care provided to patients with PAH include oversights in clinicians' recognition of symptoms, delays in diagnosis, and misdiagnosis ensuing from incomplete evaluations, delays in referral of patients to centers of expertise and initiation of therapy, and inappropriate treatment regimens. To address deficiencies in PAH diagnosis, new practice guidelines emphasize the essential role of right heart catheterization in characterizing and confirming the disease, as well as referral to expert pulmonary hypertension centers to ensure appropriate evaluation and treatment. Updated disease and functional classifications of PAH, along with new research findings on prognostic factors and effects of comorbid conditions, offer key support for making effective therapy and management decisions for patients with PAH at different risk levels and stages of the disease. Since 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new PAH therapies in the classes of endothelin receptor antagonists, guanylate cyclase stimulators, prostacyclin analogues, and prostacyclin receptor agonists. As demonstrated through phase 3 clinical trials, these generally well-tolerated therapies delay disease progression, improve hemodynamic and functional status, and decrease numbers of hospitalizations. Moreover, 2 sets of recently published guidelines-developed by the American College of Chest Physicians and the European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society-provide evidence-based and expert consensus recommendations for achieving PAH treatment goals. The most recent guidelines include a recommendation for upfront combination therapy for patients with moderate disease, which is supported by new comparative clinical trial evidence. As addressed in this article, these advances in the field of PAH have important implications for managed care and clinical practice, including considerations of cost-benefit outcomes associated with different management strategies.

Clopidogrel plus Aspirin for Symptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerotic Stenosis: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There are limited data on the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy for secondary stroke prevention in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease. METHODS: Consecutive patients presenting with high-grade (70-99%) symptomatic intracranial stenosis from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, and evaluated within 30 days of the index event were eligible for this analysis. All patients underwent treatment with aspirin plus clopidogrel for a target duration of 12 months along with aggressive medical management based on the Stenting and Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent Stroke in Intracranial Stenosis (SAMMPRIS) protocol; all patients were given gastrointestinal prophylaxis for the duration of their aspirin and clopidogrel treatment. Clinical and safety outcomes of our cohort were compared with the medical arm of the SAMMPRIS trial cohort (n = 227). RESULTS: Our cohort included 25 patients that met the inclusion criteria. Achievement of blood pressure and LDL cholesterol targets were similar between our cohort and the SAMMPRIS cohort. At 1 year, the rates of stroke, myocardial infarction or vascular death were 0% in our cohort and 16% in the SAMMPRIS cohort (p = 0.03). At 1 year, major bleeding rates were similar between our cohort and the SAMMPRIS cohort (4 vs. 2.2%, p = 1.0). CONCLUSION: A prolonged course of dual antiplatelet therapy for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease may be associated with less vascular events with no increase in hemorrhagic complications.

Pharmacists performing quality spirometry testing: an evidence based review.

BACKGROUND: The scope of pharmacist services for patients with pulmonary disease has primarily focused on drug related outcomes; however pharmacists have the ability to broaden the scope of clinical services by performing diagnostic testing including quality spirometry testing. Studies have demonstrated that pharmacists can perform quality spirometry testing based upon international guidelines. AIM OF THE REVIEW: The primary aim of this review was to assess the published evidence of pharmacists performing quality spirometry testing based upon American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) guidelines. In order to accomplish this, the description of evidence and type of outcome from these services were reviewed. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using five databases [PubMed (1946-January 2015), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970 to January 2015), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews] with search terms including pharmacy, spirometry, pulmonary function, asthma or COPD was conducted. Searches were limited to publications in English and reported in humans. In addition, Uniform Resource Locators and Google Scholar searches were implemented to include any additional supplemental information. RESULTS: Eight studies (six prospective multi-center trials, two retrospective single center studies) were included. Pharmacists in all studies received specialized training in performing spirometry testing. Of the eight studies meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, 8 (100%) demonstrated acceptable repeatability of spirometry testing based upon standards set by the ATS/ERS guidelines. Acceptable repeatability of seven studies ranged from 70 to 99% consistent with published data. CONCLUSION: Available evidence suggests that quality spirometry testing can be performed by pharmacists. More prospective studies are needed to add to the current evidence of quality spirometry testing performed by pharmacists and to measure health outcomes of the pulmonary patient.

Retention of advanced cardiac life support knowledge and skills following high-fidelity mannequin simulation training.

OBJECTIVE: To assess pharmacy students' ability to retain advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) knowledge and skills within 120 days of previous high-fidelity mannequin simulation training. DESIGN: Students were randomly assigned to rapid response teams of 5-6. Skills in ACLS and mannequin survival were compared between teams some members of which had simulation training 120 days earlier and teams who had not had previous training. ASSESSMENT: A checklist was used to record and assess performance in the simulations. Teams with previous simulation training (n=10) demonstrated numerical superiority to teams without previous training (n=12) for 6 out of 8 (75%) ACLS skills observed, including time calculating accurate vasopressor infusion rate (83 sec vs 113 sec; p=0.01). Mannequin survival was 37% higher for teams who had previous simulation training, but this result was not significant (70% vs 33%; p=0.20). CONCLUSION: Teams with students who had previous simulation training demonstrated numerical superiority in ACLS knowledge and skill retention within 120 days of previous training compared to those who had no previous training. Future studies are needed to add to the current evidence of pharmacy students' and practicing pharmacists' ACLS knowledge and skill retention.