Implementation of a multidisciplinary NST service for critically ill patients was associated with higher percentages of goal kcal and goal protein, as well as a shortened duration of mechanical ventilation use. Higher energy supply was associated with a reduced mortality rate.

The curative effects of nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are still controversial, with even more after the removal of marketing approval of indication of bevacizumab. Five electronic databases and the related resources were searched for eligible randomized clinical trials (RCTs) without year and language restrictions to perform a meta-analysis. The studies were comparing the efficacy and safety between nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy versus solvent-based (sb)-taxanes chemotherapy such as sb-paclitaxel and docetaxel. The primary end points were overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). Secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), adverse events (AEs), and dose discontinuation rate (DDR). Five RCTs (1,554 patients) were finally identified from 1,902 studies. When compared to sb-paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel showed significant beneficial effects in terms of ORR (OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.69-3.37, p < 0.001), DCR (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.07-3.35, p = 0.03), and PFS (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.62-0.90, p = 0.002). Nab-paclitaxel also showed significantly longer OS (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.54-0.99, p = 0.04) than docetaxel. AEs and DDR were comparable between the two arms. Using nab-paclitaxel could significantly improve efficacy with comparable toxicities in the treatment of MBC. Nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab) paclitaxel is solvent free and employs a novel delivery mechanism for paclitaxel to tumors 1. Although nab-paclitaxel was initially developed to minimize the toxic effects of taxane treatment, several early clinical trials demonstrated that nab-paclitaxel was also more effective than the conventional solvent-based (sb) paclitaxel in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer 2-5. However, recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have suggested that nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy is not as efficacious as sb-taxanes, such as sb-paclitaxel and docetaxel, and that nab-paclitaxel is often associated with more frequent adverse events 6. For example, Rugo et al. showed that nab-paclitaxel was not superior to sb-paclitaxel (progression-free survival [PFS] 9.3 months vs 11 months, hazard ratio [HR] 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.45, p = 0.054). Results were concordant with overall survival (OS), and time to treatment failure was significantly shorter in the nab-paclitaxel arm vs the sb-paclitaxel arm 6. Hematologic and non-hematologic toxicity, including peripheral neuropathy, was more prevalent in the nab-paclitaxel arm, which also had more frequent and earlier dose reductions 6. After these conflicting results were generated, Liu et al. conducted a first meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of nab-paclitaxel compared with sb-paclitaxel and docetaxel in the

This study aims to evaluate potentially appropriate antiplatelet therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease. A systematic analysis was conducted to identify the clinical outcomes of available antiplatelet therapy regimens with enhanced platelet inhibition activity (intervention of 5 regimens) over the standard dose of clopidogrel-based dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with renal insufficiency. An electronic keyword search was performed on Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library per PRISMA guidelines. We performed a prespecified net clinical benefit analysis (a composite of the rates of all-cause or cardiac-related death, myocardial infarction, major adverse cardiac outcomes, and minor and major bleeding), and included 12 studies. The intervention substantially lowered the incidence of all-cause mortality (RR 0.67; p = 0.003), major adverse cardiac outcomes (RR 0.79; p < 0.00001), and myocardial infarction (RR 0.28; p = 0.00007) without major bleeding (RR 1.14; p = 0.33) in patients with renal insufficiency, but no significant differences were noticed with cardiac-related mortality and stent thrombosis. The subgroup analysis revealed substantially elevated bleeding risk in patients with severe renal insufficiency or on hemodialysis (RR 1.68; p = 0.002). Our study confirmed that the intervention considerably enhances clinical outcomes in patients with renal insufficiency, however, a standard dose of clopidogrel-based antiplatelet therapy is favorable in patients with severe renal insufficiency.

Antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) is one of the most important strategies for managing infectious disease treatment and preventing antimicrobial resistance. The successful implementation of ASP in the community health system (CHS) has been challenging. We evaluated perceptions of current ASP, potential setbacks of ASP implementation, and future demands on ASP services among physicians and pharmacists in the CHS. The qualitative research was conducted through in-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions with 11 physicians and 11 pharmacists. In addition, a quantitative gap analysis was conducted to assess the different awareness and demands on services of ASP and preferred antimicrobial-related problems (ARP). In overall, perceptions of ASP varied by profession. The identified setbacks were unorganized institutional leadership, the undefined roles of healthcare professionals, a lack of reimbursement, the hierarchical structure of the health system, and the labor-intensive working environment of pharmacy services. Although demands for ASP improvement were similar among professionals, they had different preferences in prioritizing each service item of ASP/ARP development and the profession responsible for each service. Continuous administrative and financial investments, understanding ASP contents, ASP-specific information technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration with good communication among healthcare professions are needed to continue the progression of ASP.

Background The ability to communicate effectively is an essential skill for a pharmacist. However, the curricula of most pharmacy schools in South Korea do not include communication skills training (CST). This study aims to evaluate the effects of CST in pharmacy education. Methods This study was a comparison of pre- and post-intervention surveys completed by sixty fifth-year pharmacy students who participated in communication skills and patient counseling training during the spring 2017 semester. The students were asked to respond to 49 questions addressing 4 self-assessment categories: communication skills (24), attitudes (19), and confidence levels (2) at the beginning and end of the CST, and their perception of CST (4) after completing the course. The training session included lectures, small group work, role play, videos, and performance feedback by a tutor. Data were analyzed using the paired t -test with Bonferroni’s correction for multiple comparisons. The open-ended questions were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results The pharmacy students’ self-assessment of their communication skills, attitudes toward the communication course, and confidence levels showed significant improvement after the CST. Most students (96.7%) indicated the necessity of a pharmacy communication curriculum. They responded that CST is helpful for effective communication with patients (33.3%) and other healthcare professionals (31.7%). Role-playing was reported as the most preferred learning method (58.3%). Conclusions CST significantly impacted pharmacy students’ skills, attitudes, and confidence levels related to communication skills and patient counseling. These findings indicate that communications training should be included in the regular curriculum of pharmacy schools.

An outpatient antimicrobial stewardship program (O-ASP) was developed and implemented to promote appropriate antibiotic therapy in outpatient settings. As active patient involvement is a critical component of an effective O-ASP, this study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire addressing patient awareness for appropriate antibiotic therapy and the need for pharmaceutical care services (PCS) in the O-ASP in Korea. The questionnaire was drafted based on ASPs and PCS guidelines and validated for content and construct validity using the item-content validity index (I-CVI) and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. The estimated I-CVI and Cronbach’s alpha were considered excellent or adequate (≥0.8 and 0.70–0.90, respectively) for most of the survey items (17 out of 23 items). The validated questionnaire was utilized in a pilot survey study, including 112 individuals (37% male) with the mean ± SD age of 37 ± 13 years. Among the survey participants, 68% responded that antibiotics had been prescribed appropriately; however, ≥50% showed a lack of knowledge regarding their antibiotic therapy. The participants expressed the need for PCS as part of an O-ASP in the questionnaire (average Likert score ≥3.4/5). In conclusion, our newly validated questionnaire successfully measured patient awareness and knowledge of antimicrobial use and the need for PCS in the O-ASP.

Purpose We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban in thromboprophylaxis compared with those of aspirin in real‐world patients who underwent hip arthroplasty using nationwide claims data. Methods Patients aged more than or equal to 18 years with at least one hip arthroplasty including total and partial hip replacements and hip replacement revisions during July 2009 to June 2013 were identified from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) database. The study outcome was incidence rate of thromboembolic events and anticoagulation‐related major bleeding within 90 days of hip arthroplasty. Results The incidence of overall venous thromboembolism (VTE) within 90‐day postsurgery was significantly higher in the aspirin cohort than it was in the rivaroxaban cohorts. Bleeding events associated with pharmacological thromboprophylaxis in patients who received rivaroxaban were not significantly different from that in aspirin‐treated patients. In aspirin cohorts, 65.7% of patients received less than 3‐week treatment while about half received a less than 14‐day treatment, and 31.7% received more than 3‐week treatment in the rivaroxaban cohort. Conclusions This study demonstrates that rivaroxaban was more effective in preventing VTE following hip arthroplasty without raising bleeding risks in clinical settings. Age more than or equal to 80 years, women, and a history of thromboembolism were the risk factors of VTE incidence.

No abstract