Objectives Non‐medical prescribers, including pharmacists, have been found to achieve comparable clinical outcomes with doctors for certain health conditions. Legislation supporting pharmacist prescribing (PP) has been implemented in the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and New Zealand (NZ); however, to date, Australian pharmacists have not been extended prescribing rights. The purpose of this review was to describe the barriers to PP found in the literature from the UK, Canada, NZ and Australia, and examine the implications of these for the development of PP in Australia. Methods We conducted a scoping review, which included peer‐reviewed and grey literature, and consultation with stakeholders. Sources – Scopus, PubMed and CINAHL; Google Scholar, OpenGrey and organisational websites from January 2003 to March 2018 in the UK, Canada, NZ and Australia. Inclusion criteria – articles published in English, related to implementation of PP and articulated barriers to PP. Key findings Of 863 unique records, 120 were reviewed and 64 articles were eligible for inclusion. Three key themes emerged: (1) Socio‐political context, (2) Resourcing issues and (3) Prescriber competence. The most common barriers were inadequate training regarding diagnostic knowledge and skills, inadequate support from authorities and stakeholders, and insufficient funding/reimbursement. Conclusions If implementation of PP is to occur, attention needs to be focused on addressing identified barriers to PP implementation, including fostering a favourable socio‐political context and prescriber competence. As such, a concerted effort is required to develop clear policy pathways, including targeted training courses, raising stakeholder recognition of PP and identifying specific funding, infrastructure and resourcing needs to ensure the smooth integration of pharmacist prescribers within interprofessional clinical teams.

Abstract. The pre-operative embolization of hypervascular spinal tumors is often performed to decrease intraoperative blood loss and facilitate tumor resection; however, few studies have been published on its effectiveness in giant cell tumors (GCT) of the sacrum and spine. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the value of surgical excision with pre-operative transarterial embolization for GCTs of the sacrum and spine, and to evaluate the follow-up outcomes. A retrospective study was performed on 28 patients with GCTs of the sacrum and spine, who underwent surgical treatment combined with pre-operative transarterial embolization between June 1995 and August 2011. The intraoperative blood loss, transfusion, duration of surgery, treatment, local recurrence, complications, follow-up status and functional outcome were reviewed. The average follow-up period was 86.3 months (range, 12-193 months). All the patients were treated with intralesional resection without any intraoperative shock or fatalities. The average intraoperative level of blood loss was 1,528.6 ml (range, 400-5,800 ml), the average transfusion volume was 1,514.3 ml (range, 400-6,000 ml) and the average duration of surgery was 225.4 min (range, 120-470 min). In total, eight (28.6%) patients developed recurrence and two patients succumbed. A total of eight (28.6%) patients experienced complications and 24 (85.7%) retained normal neurological function. Pre-operative embolization significantly decreases intraoperative blood loss and facilitates the maximal removal of the tumor. Pre-operative embolization followed by intralesional resection is able to achieve satisfactory local control and clinical outcomes. It is an effective technique for excising GCTs of the sacrum and spine.

Background Little is known about the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of adverse drug events (ADEs) in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Objective The objective of this study was to describe and compare the demographic details of people with and without NDD hospitalised due to ADEs. Methods The all‐inclusive New South Wales Admitted Patient Data Collection from 2001 to 2014 was employed to identify ADE‐related hospitalisations in patients with NDD using the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision Australian modification codes. We derived case sets specific to different clinical groups and patient characteristics and compared proportional differences between patients with and without intellectual disability using chi squared tests. Results A total of 2173 patients with NDD were admitted for acute care of ADEs, accounting for 0.7% of all ADE‐related hospitalisations. Hospitalised ADEs among patients with NDD increased by twofold over the 14‐year study period. Psychotropic medications and opioid analgesic medications were leading causes of ADE‐related hospitalisations in patients with NDD. Compared with their counterparts, patients with NDD were younger, experienced more socio‐economic disadvantage and less private insurance coverage, suffered with less severe but different co‐morbid clinical conditions and incurred more challenges in the acute hospital care setting. Conclusion Although the pattern of ADE‐related hospitalisations in patients with NDD differed from that in patients without NDD, there is a lack of targeted healthcare programmes to meet their special needs. This study suggests the need for countermeasures in primary healthcare settings to reduce the burden of ADEs in this vulnerable group.

Objective. To investigate the clinical characteristics of tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO). Methods. The clinical data of six patients with TO from November 2016 to November 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of TO were summarized. Result. All six patients with TO were middle-aged males, confirmed by histopathological examination. The main clinical symptoms were cough, sputum, hemoptysis, chest pain, and repeated pulmonary infection. Some patients could make a preliminary diagnosis by chest CT, and bronchoscopy showed that TO mainly occurred in the trachea and the main bronchus and was more likely to invade the right bronchus. The treatment mainly includes anti-infection, phlegm-resolving, and other symptomatic treatment. Conclusion. TO is a benign disease predisposing to adults, and males are more likely to be affected. Its clinical manifestations are lack of specificity, and the cause may be related to chronic infection. Bronchoscopy combined with histopathological examination is the primary approach for the diagnosis of TO. There is no well-recognized treatment standard for TO, and the judgment of therapeutic effect is inconsistent. It is necessary to improve the understanding of this disease from a clinical perspective.

Rationale: Primary retroperitoneal liposarcoma, which originates from mesenchymal tissues, can rarely present with extensive ossification. Patient concerns: A 41-year-old male patient presented with a chief complaint of discomfort around the waist for 2 months. Diagnoses: Computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging suggested a lesion of approximately 5.6 × 5.1 × 8.7 cm in front of the psoas major muscle, which was considered to be a mesenchymal or neurogenic tumor. Interventions: The hard mass was removed by laparotomy, and the pathological investigation revealed that this was an atypical lipomatous tumor/well-differentiated liposarcoma, with extensive ossification. Outcomes: The patient was discharged from the hospital after surgery. There was no sign of reoccurrence after 1 year of follow-up. Lessons: Retroperitoneal liposarcomas with extensive ossification are rare tumors that can present with nonspecific symptoms, and are difficult to diagnose. CT is the most common imaging technique, and surgical resection has been considered to be the most effective treatment. This rare case can be challenging for diagnosis and treatment.