Pyrazinamide-induced hyperuricemia.

Elevated uric acid levels can cause crystal deposition and may lead to gout, urolithiasis, and urate nephropathy. The authors report on the case of a 34-year-old male whose hyperuricemia was associated with the antituberculous drug pyrazinamide.

Diphenhydramine and acute kidney injury.

Seldom considered to be a drug that causes renal problems, diphenhydramine can have adverse effects in some patients, as illustrated by a case study of a middle-aged veteran. Extra precautions are urged before this medication is prescribed, especially in elderly patients.

Glucarpidase (voraxaze), a carboxypeptidase enzyme for methotrexate toxicity.

Glucarpidase (Voraxaze) for methotrexate toxicity.

Evaluation of Potential Drug-Drug Interactions With Direct Oral Anticoagulants in a Large Urban Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess patterns of potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in an inpatient hospital setting. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted at the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center (BUHMC) from January 2014 to November 2016. All adult patients admitted to the BUHMC who were treated with a DOAC for at least 3 days were screened. Among them, those who received selected interacting drugs at any time during the course of DOAC therapy were included in this study. RESULTS: This study included 165 patients with an average of 73 years (standard deviation [SD] = 12.3) and 233 cases. The most commonly used concomitant drug with a DOAC was aspirin (58%), followed by amiodarone (16%) and P2Y12 inhibitors (11%). The combined use of dual antiplatelet therapy and a DOAC was identified in 18 (6%) cases. Approximately one-third of the cases encountered were classified as the "avoidance" category. CONCLUSIONS: Despite computerized DDI alerts, potentially significant DDIs with DOACs still occur. While the present study provides insight into the current patterns of DDIs, further studies are needed to evaluate clinical outcomes of the potential DDIs with DOACs in practice.

Ligand binding analyses of the putative peptide transporter YjdL from E. coli display a significant selectivity towards dipeptides.

Proton-dependent oligopeptide transporters (POTs) are secondary active transporters that couple the inwards translocation of di- and tripeptides to inwards proton translocation. Escherichia coli contains four genes encoding the putative POT proteins YhiP, YdgR, YjdL and YbgH. We have over-expressed the previously uncharacterized YjdL and investigated the peptide specificity by means of uptake inhibition. The IC(50) value for the dipeptide Ala-Ala was measured to 22 mM while Ala-Ala-Ala was not able to inhibit uptake. In addition, IC(50) values of 0.3 mM and 1.5 mM were observed for Ala-Lys and Tyr-Ala, respectively, while the alanyl-extended tripeptides Ala-Lys-Ala, Ala-Ala-Lys, Ala-Tyr-Ala and Tyr-Ala-Ala displayed values of 8, >50, 31 and 31 mM, respectively. These results clearly indicate that unlike most POT members characterized to date, including YdgR and YhiP, YjdL shows significantly higher specificity towards dipeptides.

Cinnamon supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and most patients with the disease have type 2 diabetes. The effectiveness of cinnamon supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes has received a great deal of media attention after a study was published in 2003. Although the efficacy of cinnamon in patients with diabetes has not been established, many patients seek other therapies and supplement their prescribed pharmacologic therapy with cinnamon. We conducted a literature search, limited to English-language human studies, using MEDLINE (1966-August 2006), EMBASE (1980-August 2006), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-August 2006), and Iowa Drug Information Service (1966-August 2006). References from articles and clinical trials were reviewed for additional sources; no abstracts were reviewed. We found two prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed clinical trials and one prospective, placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed clinical trial that evaluated the efficacy of cinnamon supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes; a total of 164 patients were involved in these trials. Two of the studies reported modest improvements in lowering blood glucose levels with cinnamon supplementation in small patient samples. One trial showed no significant difference between cinnamon and placebo in lowering blood glucose levels. Overall, cinnamon was well tolerated. These data suggest that cinnamon has a possible modest effect in lowering plasma glucose levels in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. However, clinicians are strongly urged to refrain from recommending cinnamon supplementation in place of the proven standard of care, which includes lifestyle modifications, oral antidiabetic agents, and insulin therapy.

Interaction potential between cranberry juice and warfarin.

PURPOSE: The interaction potential between warfarin and cranberry juice is discussed. SUMMARY: Reports from the United Kingdom have raised concern over the interaction potential between cranberry juice and warfarin. Warfarin is the most commonly prescribed oral medication for anticoagulation therapy. Cranberry juice is a flavonoid, which has been shown to induce, inhibit, or act as a substrate for the biosynthesis of several cytochrome P-450 (CYP) isoenzymes. Specifically, cranberry juice may inhibit the activity of CYP2C9, the primary isoenzyme involved in the metabolism of S-warfarin. A search of the medical literature identified three peer-reviewed case reports and two peer-reviewed, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials using metabolic surrogates of warfarin (flurbiprofen and cyclosporine) that described possible interactions between cranberry juice and warfarin. Two case reports suggested that cranberry juice increased the International Normalized Ratio (INR) of patients taking warfarin, but neither clearly identified cranberry juice as the sole cause of INR elevation. One case report appeared to show a correlation between the effects of cranberry juice and warfarin metabolism. Both clinical trials indicated the lack of an interaction between cranberry juice and CYP isoenzymes 2C9 and 3A, both of which are necessary in warfarin metabolism. More studies are required to determine the potential interaction between cranberry juice and warfarin. CONCLUSION: The available data do not seem to show a clinically relevant interaction between cranberry juice and warfarin; however, patients taking warfarin with cranberry juice should be cautioned about the potential interaction and monitored closely for INR changes and signs and symptoms of bleeding.

Managing Hyperkalemia: Stepping Into a New Frontier.

Maintaining potassium balance in the body is essential for cellular function. Even a slight increase in normal serum potassium levels (3.5-5.0 mEq/L) can interfere with metabolism, electrical action potentials, and cellular processes. Hyperkalemia is commonly seen in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and in patients on renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors. Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS), diuretics, and hemodialysis are currently available methods for removing potassium from the body; however, these options have their limitations. Patiromer (Veltassa) and sodium zirconium cyclosilicate are 2 new therapeutic options that can potentially lead a new frontier in the management of hyperkalemia. This article will review these novel treatments.

Incorporating Team-Based Learning Into a Physician Assistant Clinical Pharmacology Course.

PURPOSE: To obtain student perceptions of team-based learning and compare the effectiveness of team-based learning and traditional lecture formats in a clinical pharmacology course for physician assistant (PA) students. METHODS: Clinical pharmacology is a course offered to PA students in their first year of training at LIU Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY. In spring 2014, half of the course was offered in a traditional lecture format and the remaining half was offered in a team-based learning format. The team-based learning format had 3 components: (1) prereading assignments, (2) individual readiness assessment tests, and (3) team readiness assessment tests. So that student perceptions of the integration of team-based learning activities into the course could be evaluated, presurveys and postsurveys were administered. The effectiveness of team-based learning was evaluated by comparing overall student performance with student performance in the preceding year. RESULTS: Thirty-three students were enrolled in the course and completed the presurveys and postsurveys. The survey results are presented in Table 1. Comparison of student performance on examinations with performance from the previous year showed similar outcomes. CONCLUSION: Incorporating a team-based learning pedagogical approach in the PA pharmacology course yielded similar examination results to those of traditional lecture formats. Presurvey and postsurvey questionnaires yielded various student perceptions of team-based learning.

LCZ696 (angiotensin-neprilysin inhibition): the new kid on the heart failure block?

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) have been the cornerstone in systolic heart failure (HF) regimens over the past 25 years. Their ability to block the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and their vasodilatory properties has repeatedly been shown to lower morbidity and mortality in patients with HF having reduced ejection fractions. In August 2014, the New England Journal of Medicine published a large trial studying a novel LCZ696 (angiotensin-neprilysin inhibition) agent against enalapril, an ACEI. In the phase III trial, LCZ696 demonstrated superiority to enalapril in composite death from cardiovascular causes and hospitalization for HF. The trial was stopped early due to overwhelming benefit of the study agent. This article provides an extensive review of the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetic properties, clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of LCZ696.