Student pharmacists provide tobacco use prevention education to elementary school children: A pilot experience.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe a service learning experience involving tobacco prevention education and to measure the education's effect on the learners' knowledge of tobacco products. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Student pharmacists planned and presented a 40-min tobacco prevention education program using the Tar Wars curriculum to fourth and fifth grade students at three suburban elementary schools in Western Massachusetts. Mean scores on a five-question assessment given to school age children before and after the presentation were compared. A total of 206 elementary school students in ten classrooms participated. FINDINGS: The average survey score increased from 1.87 on the pre-survey to 3.72 out of a maximum of five on the post-survey (P<0.01). DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY: Student pharmacists provided tobacco prevention education to three suburban elementary schools. The children demonstrated an increase in short-term knowledge regarding tobacco use. Tobacco prevention is a unique co-curricular opportunity for student pharmacists to get involved in their community.

The effect of angiotensin II receptor blockers on hyperuricemia.

The objective of this review was to explore the efficacy of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) for the treatment of hyperuricemia in individuals diagnosed with gout or hyperuricemia defined as ⩾7 mg/dl at baseline. A literature search of MEDLINE (1946 to June 2015) and EMBASE (1947 to June 2015) was conducted. The following search terms were used: 'uric acid', 'urate transporter', 'gout', 'angiotensin II receptor blockers', 'hyperuricemia' and the names for individual ARBs, as well as any combinations of these terms. Studies were excluded that did not explore fractional excretion or serum uric acid as an endpoint, if patients did not have a diagnosis of gout or hyperuricemia at baseline, or if they were non-English language. A total of eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the eight studies identified, six explored ARB monotherapy and two studies investigated ARBs as adjunct therapy. Losartan demonstrated statistically significant reductions in serum uric acid levels or increases in fractional excretion of uric acid in all studies, whereas no other ARB reached statistical benefit. The effect of ARBs on the occurrence of gout attacks or other clinical outcomes were not represented. Four studies evaluated safety effects of these agents indicating abnormalities such as minor changes in lab values. In conclusion, losartan is the only ARB that has consistently demonstrated a significant reduction in serum uric acid levels, although the significance of impacting clinical outcomes remains unknown. Losartan appears to be a safe and efficacious agent to lower serum uric acid levels in patients with hyperuricemia.

The emerging role of tacrolimus in myasthenia gravis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and evaluate the available evidence assessing the role of tacrolimus in the management of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). DATA SOURCES: A literature search of MEDLINE (1946 to September 2014) and EMBASE (1947 to September 2014) was performed using the terms 'tacrolimus' and 'myasthenia gravis'. Citations of retrieved articles were examined for relevance. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: The search was limited to prospective clinical trials focused on clinical outcomes in patients with generalized MG. Case reports, retrospective evaluations and non-English articles were excluded. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 12 studies met inclusion criteria, of which seven articles evaluated tacrolimus in steroid-dependent patients and two examined the utility of tacrolimus in patients failing corticosteroids and cyclosporine. Other studies evaluated early initiation of tacrolimus after thymectomy, effectiveness of tacrolimus in de novo MG and the effectiveness of tacrolimus post-thymectomy in thymoma patients versus nonthymoma. A total of eight trials showed statistically significant improvements in quantitative MG score (QMGS) and postintervention status criteria - Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (PSC-MGFA). Of the trials examining steroid reduction with tacrolimus, two reported high rates of complete withdrawal; however, the most robust trial was unable to detect a difference in mean steroid dose. Long-term effects of tacrolimus (up to 5 years) were assessed in eight trials, which consistently showed positive effects on QMGS or reduction in adjunct therapies. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited yet promising information to suggest a beneficial role for tacrolimus in reducing QMGS and corticosteroid burden in patients with refractory symptoms or new-onset MG. Long-term use appears to be safe in this population.