Introduction: This brief describes the results of two initiatives, a Postgraduate Training Seminar elective course and a P4 Postgraduate Mentorship Programme, on pharmacy residency match rates at a College of Pharmacy.
Description of programmes: The Postgraduate Training Seminar elective course was developed to aid third-year pharmacy students interested in residency. The P4 Postgraduate Mentorship Programme was founded to help fourth-year students interested in postgraduate job attainment.
Evaluation: For students participating in the elective, College of Pharmacy residency match rates varied in comparison to the national rates (2019: 55% vs 63%; 2020: 67% vs 65%; 2021: 94% vs 77%). In 2021, students who participated in both the elective course and mentorship programme achieved the highest match results compared to the national rate (2019: 38% vs 63%; 2021: 55% vs 77%).
Future plans: Both initiatives will continue, with plans for the expansion of mentorship into the earlier years of the curriculum.
Objectives
We sought to determine the prevalence of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE-5) mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in males with HIV infection receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and identify factors associated with PDE-5-mediated DDIs.
Methods
Male US Military HIV Natural History Study participants diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED) and having a PDE-5 inhibitor and potentially-interacting ART co-dispensed within 30 days were included. DDIs were defined according to criteria found in published guidelines and drug information resources. The primary outcome of interest was overall PDE-5 inhibitor-mediated DDI prevalence and episode duration. A secondary logistic regression analysis was performed on those with and without DDIs to identify factors associated with initial DDI episode.
Results
A total of 235 male participants with ED met inclusion criteria. The majority were White (50.6%) or African American (40.4%). Median age at medication co-dispensing (45 years), duration of HIV infection (14 years), and duration of ED (1 year) did not differ between the two groups (p>0.05 for all). PDE-5 inhibitors included sildenafil (n = 124), vardenafil (n = 99), and tadalafil (n = 14). ART regimens included RTV-boosted protease inhibitors (PIs) atazanavir (n = 83) or darunavir (n = 34), and COBI-boosted elvitegravir (n = 43). Potential DDIs occurred in 181 (77.0%) participants, of whom 122 (67.4%) had multiple DDI episodes. The median DDI duration was 8 (IQR 1–12) months. In multivariate analyses, non-statistically significant higher odds of DDIs were observed with RTV-boosted PIs or PI-based ART (OR 2.13, 95% CI 0.85–5.37) and in those with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (OR 1.74, 95% CI 0.83–3.64).
Conclusions
PDE-5-mediated DDIs were observed in the majority of males with HIV infection on RTV- or COBI-boosted ART in our cohort. This study highlights the importance of assessing for DDIs among individuals on ART, especially those on boosted regimens.
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