Nurse students’ competences in interprofessional pharmaceutical care in Europe: Cross-sectional evaluation

BackgroundSafe pharmaceutical care requires competent nurses with specific knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is unclear whether nursing students are adequately prepared to perform pharmaceutical care in practice. Mapping their pharmaceutical care competences can lead to a better understanding of the extent to which curricula fit expectations of the labour market.ObjectivesTo assess pharmaceutical care competences of final-year nursing students of different educational levels.DesignA cross-sectional survey design.SettingsIn 14 European countries, nursing schools who offer curricula for level 4 to 7 students were approached.ParticipantsThrough convenience sampling 1741 final-year student nurses of level 4 to 7 were included. Sampling strategies were country-specific.MethodsA web-platform was developed with an assessment of the level in which students mastered pharmaceutical care competences. Knowledge questions, case studies (basic/advanced level), self-reported practical skills and attitudes were evaluated.ResultsMean scores for knowledge questions differed significantly (p < 0.001) between level 5 (56/100), level 6 (68/100) and level 7 students (72/100). For basic cases level 5 students reached lower scores (64/100) compared with level 6 (71/100) and level 7 (72/100) students (p = 0.002 and p = 0.005). For more advanced cases no difference between levels was observed (overall mean 61/100). Most students (63–90 %) considered themselves skilled to perform pharmaceutical care and had positive attitudes towards their participation in pharmaceutical care (65–97 %).ConclusionsRelatively low knowledge scores were calculated for final-year student nurses. In some domains, lower levels of students might be insufficiently prepared to take up responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. Our assessment can be used as a tool for educators to evaluate how prepared nursing students are for pharmaceutical care. Its further implementation for students of different educational levels will allow benchmarking between the levels, both within and between countries.     

Periprosthetic joint infection due to Mycoplasma hominis in a multiple sclerosis patient treated with fingolimod

Mycoplasma hominis is a commensal pathogen normally found in urogenital tract of humans and has been associated with a wide variety of extra-genitourinary infections, such as mediastinitis, bacteremia, and septic arthritis, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Here, we present a case of a 48-year-old male, who had been treated with fingolimod for relapsing multiple sclerosis and presented with fever and right-sided hip pain following total hip arthroplasty. CT scan revealed localized fluid collection in the right quadriceps femoris muscle adjacent to the joint cavity of right hip. The percutaneously aspirated fluid grew M. hominis, which was also isolated from blood culture. With diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection, the patient underwent surgical debridement with retained prosthesis and was treated with antimicrobial agents. Infected granulation tissues excised from the hip was observed under an electron microscope, which revealed electron-dense rounded structures contained in neutrophils, consistent with Mycoplasma particles. Fingolimod, an immunomodulatory drug that acts on the sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor and prevents the egress of lymphocytes from lymph nodes, might increase host susceptibility to a systemic M. hominis infection.     

Disparity in Utilization of Multiagent Therapy for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in the United States

BackgroundDespite high rate of cure in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in clinical trials, outcomes in real-world practice are dismal. We utilized National Cancer Database (NCDB) to explore utilization of multiagent therapy in APL and identify any disparities in treatment in real-world practices.Patients and MethodsNCDB categorizes use of systemic chemotherapy into single agent versus multiagent therapy. Some patients received hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, and unknown therapy; details of these treatments could not be ascertained. We therefore used multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate effects of covariates on the probability of multiagent therapy use in 6678 patients.ResultsCompared to patients >60 years, patients aged 0 to 18 years (hazard ratio[HR] 3.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-5.5, P< .0001), 19 to 40 years (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.03-2.54, P= .03), and 41 to 60 years (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-1.9, P< .0001) were more likely to receive multiagent therapy. Patients with Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) of 0 (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.3, P= .001) and CCI of 1 (HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.9, P= .04) had a higher likelihood of receiving multiagent therapy than patients with CCI ≥ 3. Patients treated at academic cancer centers, compared to those treated at community cancer center (HR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.7, P= .001), comprehensive community cancer center (HR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6-0.8, P< .0001), and integrated network cancer center (HR 0.8, 95% CI 0.6-0.9, P= .02) were more likely to be treated with multiagent therapy. Compared to the patients with private insurance, those with Medicaid had increased likelihood (HR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.4, P= .04) whereas uninsured patients had a lower likelihood of receiving multiagent therapy (HR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.8, P= .0005).ConclusionTo our knowledge, this study is the first and the largest scale analysis of treatment practices in APL in real-world practices. Our findings highlight significant disparities in treatment of APL based on age, insurance, and health-system factors.     

The neutralization effect of montelukast on SARS-CoV-2 is shown by multiscale in silico simulations and combined in vitro studies

1. Download : Download high-res image (161KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Protective activities of ellagic acid and urolithins against kidney toxicity of environmental pollutants: A review

Oxidative stress and inflammation are two possible mechanisms related to nephrotoxicity caused by environmental pollutants. Ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant phytochemical, may have great relevance in mitigating pollutant-induced nephrotoxicity and preventing the progression of kidney disease. This review discusses the latest findings on the protective effects of ellagic acid, its metabolic derivatives, the urolithins, against kidney toxicity caused by heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, and organic air pollutants. We describe the chelating, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antiautophagic, and antiapoptotic properties of ellagic acid to attenuate nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, we present the molecular targets and signaling pathways that are regulated by these antioxidants, and suggest some others that should be explored. Nevertheless, the number of reports is still limited to establish the efficacy of ellagic acid against kidney damage induced by environmental pollutants. Therefore, additional preclinical studies on this topic are required, as well as the development of well-designed clinical trials.