Prescribing-Assessment Tools for Long-Term Care Pharmacy Practice: Reaching Consensus through a Modified RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method.

Medicines are the most used health technology in Long-Term Care. The prevalence of potentially inappropriate medicines amongst Long-Term Care patients is high. Pharmacists, assisted by prescribing-assessment tools, can play an important role in optimizing medication use at this level of care. Through a modified RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method, 13 long-term care and hospital pharmacists assessed as 'appropriate', 'uncertain', or 'inappropriate' a collection of commonly used prescribing-assessment tools as to its suitability in assisting pharmacy practice in institutional long-term care settings. A qualitative analysis of written or transcribed comments of participants was pursued to identify relevant characteristics of prescribing-assessment tools and potential hinders in their use. From 24 different tools, pharmacists classified 9 as 'appropriate' for pharmacy practice targeted to long-term care patients, while 3 were classified as 'inappropriate'. The tools feature most appreciated by study participants was the indication of alternatives to potentially inappropriate medication. Lack of time and/or pharmacists and limited access to clinical information seems to be the most relevant hinders for prescribing-assessment tools used in daily practice.

Probing pharmacists' interventions in Long-Term Care: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Long-Term Care (LTC) systems have experienced recent developments driven by changes in healthcare and demography (e.g. population ageing). As well, pharmacists are changing from traditional roles to more patient-oriented services. The present study aimed to identify and assess pharmacists' and/or pharmacy-based interventions in institutional LTC settings, also mapping relevant medications. METHODS: The review was undertaken in general accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), using three main literature databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge). A set of 16 keywords, divided into three domains (professional, type of care and type of setting), were combined into search equations. Selected studies were assessed through the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria, out of 794 initial hits. Most studies (12) described pharmacist/pharmacy-driven interventions assessing Medication Management Reviews' impact in different endpoints or outcomes. Other studies (3) assessed pharmacists' interventions on specific medication groups. Good Administration Practices, new pharmaceutical care models, antibiotic stewardship programs, and studies assessing other pharmacists' interventions, such as pharmacy-managed informatics and education, were addressed by 11 other papers. Six studies were classified as Strong after quality assessment. CONCLUSION: LTC is a clinically complex type of care benefiting from interdisciplinary work. Despite the overall lower quality of the identified studies, pharmacists perform in a wide array of LTC areas. The broad implementation of pharmaceutical activities in institutional LTC settings opens opportunities to optimise medicines' use.

Maxillary Interdental Osteotomies Have Low Morbidity for Alveolar Crestal Bone and Adjacent Teeth: A Cone Beam Computed Tomography-Based Study.

PURPOSE: Maxillary segmentation involving interdental osteotomies can have an adverse effect on the interdental crestal bone and adjacent teeth. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of interdental osteotomies on surrounding osseous and dental structures, including adjacent teeth, using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), in patients who underwent segmental maxillary osteotomies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present retrospective cohort study evaluated interdental osteotomy (IDO) sites between the lateral incisors and canines in patients treated with 3-piece Le Fort I osteotomies. CBCT scans were assessed using Kodac Dental Imaging software at specific intervals: T0 (before surgery), T1 (immediately after surgery), and T2 (a minimum of 11 months after surgery). The statistical analysis using a linear regression model was adjusted to compare the variables at the different intervals. Injury to the dental structures was assessed by radiological evidence of dental damage, the requirement for endodontic treatment, or tooth loss. RESULTS: We evaluated 94 IDO sites in 47 patients in the present study. The mean inter-radicular distance at T0 was 2.5 mm. A statistically significant increase was seen in the inter-radicular distance (between T1 and T0) of 0.72 mm, with a reduction of the alveolar bone crest height (between T2 and T0) of 0.19 mm (P < .001) for the group that underwent IDO. A weak correlation was found for this increase in the inter-radicular distance, with changes in the alveolar crest bone height. The potential complications associated with interdental osteotomies such as iatrogenic damage to the tooth structure, the need for endodontic treatment, and tooth loss were not encountered in any patients. CONCLUSIONS: We found very low morbidity for the interdental alveolar crest and the integrity of teeth adjacent to interdental osteotomies for patients who underwent maxillary segmentation between the lateral incisors and canines.

Midpalatal suture maturation: classification method for individual assessment before rapid maxillary expansion.

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we present a novel classification method for individual assessment of midpalatal suture morphology. METHODS: Cone-beam computed tomography images from 140 subjects (ages, 5.6-58.4 years) were examined to define the radiographic stages of midpalatal suture maturation. Five stages of maturation of the midpalatal suture were identified and defined: stage A, straight high-density sutural line, with no or little interdigitation; stage B, scalloped appearance of the high-density sutural line; stage C, 2 parallel, scalloped, high-density lines that were close to each other, separated in some areas by small low-density spaces; stage D, fusion completed in the palatine bone, with no evidence of a suture; and stage E, fusion anteriorly in the maxilla. Intraexaminer and interexaminer agreements were evaluated by weighted kappa tests. RESULTS: Stages A and B typically were observed up to 13 years of age, whereas stage C was noted primarily from 11 to 17 years but occasionally in younger and older age groups. Fusion of the palatine (stage D) and maxillary (stage E) regions of the midpalatal suture was completed after 11 years only in girls. From 14 to 17 years, 3 of 13 (23%) boys showed fusion only in the palatine bone (stage D). CONCLUSIONS: This new classification method has the potential to avoid the side effects of rapid maxillary expansion failure or unnecessary surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion for late adolescents and young adults.