Community pharmacy services to optimise the use of medications for mental illness: a systematic review

The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the impact of pharmacist delivered community-based services to optimise the use of medications for mental illness. Twenty-two controlled (randomised and non-randomised) studies of pharmacists' interventions in community and residential aged care settings identified in international scientific literature were included for review. Papers were assessed for study design, service recipient, country of origin, intervention type, number of participating pharmacists, methodological quality and outcome measurement. Three studies showed that pharmacists' medication counselling and treatment monitoring can improve adherence to antidepressant medications among those commencing treatment when calculated using an intention-to-treat analysis. Four trials demonstrated that pharmacist conducted medication reviews may reduce the number of potentially inappropriate medications prescribed to those at high risk of medication misadventure. The results of this review provide some evidence that pharmacists can contribute to optimising the use of medications for mental illness in the community setting. However, more well designed studies are needed to assess the impact of pharmacists as members of community mental health teams and as providers of comprehensive medicines information to people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder     

How Should Functionally Equivalent Drugs be Reimbursed?

Statutory reimbursement agencies as well as private insurers throughout member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reimburse the cost of medicines on the basis of criteria that include robust clinical evidence, budget impact analysis, and incremental cost effectiveness. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the US are no exception to this rule and are, in principle, seeking to maximize benefit for their Medicare enrollees, whilst ensuring reasonable drug outlays for the small number of drugs that they reimburse. This paper provides a retrospective analysis of the way two functionally equivalent drugs are treated for reimbursement purposes by the CMS; the period under consideration was 2001–3. The two drugs, epoetin-α and darbepoetin-α, are used for the treatment of anemia in renal failure and in patients receiving chemotherapy. By reviewing the publicly available pharmacological and clinical data of epoetin-α and darbepoetin-α, the paper confirms the two drugs’ functional equivalence, despite their structural differences. The implications of dose conversion ratios and costs to Medicare are subsequently explored. It is argued that the issue of dose equivalence between epoetin-α and darbepoetin-α has significant implications for patients, practitioners, and payors. A payor’s perspective is adopted in this respect, whereby clinical evidence and pricing data are used simultaneously. Based on the clinical evidence, a dose conversion ratio for epoetin-α:darbepoetin-α is established, which achieves a comparable clinical effect for the two drugs and this is set to be <254IU:1μg. The incremental costs to Medicare are calculated subsequently. The Average Wholesale Price and the Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule that Medicare uses to reimburse providers are used and suggest that treatment of cancer patients with chemotherapy-related anemia with epoetin-α would save Medicare an estimated $US600 million each year. Patients would also benefit significantly in terms of lower co-payments for epoetin-α. The evidence is supportive of the decision made by the CMS to reimburse the two drugs at the rate reflecting the achievement of comparable clinical effects and therefore reducing the pass-through payments for darbepoetin-α to zero for the 2002–3 fiscal year.     

外用红花油引起皮肤过敏2例

例 1 .患者男 ,33岁 ,于 2 0 0 2年 1 1月因患腰肌纤维组织炎来我科治疗。我们采用外涂红花油并配合神灯照射 ,灯距 30 cm,照射 30 min,每日 1次。首次治疗结束后 ,患者述其治疗部位有痒感。查看皮肤为暗红色 ,并有红色血疹出现。次日 ,全身再行治疗后 ,上述症状加重 ,痒甚。停用红花油改为神灯照射 ,3次后过敏症状消失痊愈。例 2 .患者女 ,35岁 ,于 2 0 0 1年 8月因左脚背烫伤 ,即自涂红花油于患处 ,约 2 h后 ,涂红花油处皮肤呈深红色 ,并出现米粒样红色丘疹 ,瘙痒。为止痒 ,患者再次自行涂红花油于患处 ,约 1 h后局部出现烧灼感 ,奇痒 ,红…     

乳腺良恶性病变的磁共振T2*W首过灌注成像与血管生成相关性研究

Objective： To study the diagnostic value of T2^＊-weighted first-pass perfusion imaging in breast tumors. Methods： We analyzed the magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） information along with the pathological and immunohistochemistry results. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 28 patients with breast tumor. The time to signal intensity curves were generated according to the T2^＊-weighted first-pass perfusion imaging. The curve＇s maximal signal intensity drop rate and maximal signal intensity decrease time were analyzed and compared with the pathological diagnoses after surgery. Results： Malignant breast lesions showed higher maximal signal intensity drop rate （44.69% ± 17.07 vs. 17.22% ±7.49, P 〈 0.001） than benign lesions, but there was no significant difference of maximal signal decrease time between those two lesions （23.94 s ± 4.92 vs. 20.02 s ± 6.83, P 〉 0.05）. Conclusion： The T2^＊-weighted first-pass perfusion imaging has enough sensitivity and specificity in breast tumor diagnosis.     

Recurrent acalculous cholecystitis and sclerosing cholangitis in a patient with X-linked hyper-immunoglobulin M syndrome.

X-linked hyper-immunoglobulin M (IgM) syndrome (XHIGM) is a rare genetic primary immunodeficiency disease caused by mutations of the CD40 ligand (CD40L) gene with normal or elevated levels of IgM and markedly decreased serum IgG, IgA, and IgE. Liver disease may occur as a clinical manifestation in XHIGM. This complication appears to increase with age. We report an 18-year-old male patient who had recurrent episodes of acalculous cholecystitis (AC) and sclerosing cholangitis (SC). The diagnosis of XHIGM was confirmed by the finding of CD40L expression < 1% of normal and a tyrosine 169 asparaginase (t526a) mutation in exon 5 (the tumor necrosis factor domain) of the CD40L gene. The patient had direct hyperbilirubinemia (direct bilirubin 5.5 mg/dL, total bilirubin 8.7 mg/dL), cholestasis (alkaline phosphatase 1133 U/L, gamma-glutamyl transferase 1019 U/L) and elevated transaminases (aspartate aminotransferase 70 U/L, alanine aminotransferase 101 U/L). Findings on abdominal ultrasound and abdominal computed tomography were compatible with AC. After the fourth episode of cholecystitis, cholecystectomy and liver biopsy were performed. Operative cholangiography revealed poor opacification of the hepatic duct and proximal common bile duct; the upstream intrahepatic bile ducts were not visualized. The biopsy specimen showed marked fibrosis of the portal areas. Enterococcus species was cultured from the bile. Children or adolescents with recurrent AC and SC should be evaluated for an underlying immunodeficiency syndrome such as XHIGM.     

Elimination of malignant clonogenic cells from human bone marrow using multiple myeloid cell-specific monoclonal antibodies and complement.

Single or combined monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) Zh53, Zh820, and Zh2-1 have been used to eliminate malignant clonogenic cells from human bone marrow. The test of cytotoxicity showed that all of these McAbs could express high specific cytotoxic action against HL-60 cells and were selectively complement-dependent cytotoxic to various types of fresh leukemic cells. Clonogenic assay detected that single treatment with antibody and rabbit complement (RC) could reduce clonogenic units of HL-60 cells by more than 2 logs and two treatments reduced clonogenic units by more than 4 logs. However, combination of 2 McAbs could reduce clonogenic units by 4-5 logs. The data suggest that multiple treatments with McAbs and RC or a combination of 2 McAbs are more effective than a single treatment in eliminating clonogenic tumor cells. Treatment of normal human bone marrow with Zh53, Zh2-1 and RC did not produce a loss of normal CFU-GM, but treatment with Zh820 reduced the clonic units of normal CFU-GM by 24%.

     

灯盏花素注射液对大鼠脑缺血-再灌注脑损害的凋亡抑制作用

目的:研究灯盏花素(Bre)对大鼠脑缺血-再灌注引起脑损伤的保护作用。方法:实验选用40只雄性Wistar大鼠,大鼠被随机分成5组:假手术组、对照组、硫酸镁(Mg-SO4)治疗组、灯盏花素治疗和组。自大鼠颈总动脉插入尼龙线栓栓塞大脑中动脉,造成大脑缺血,拔出线栓实现再灌注。脑缺血10min后给予75mg/kg和50mg/kgBre及30mg/kgMgSO4,分别于脑缺血1h,再灌注2h,5h和23h分别进行神经病学评分,并于脑缺血1h,再灌注23h时测定脑梗死面积,用TUNEL法和免疫组化法分别检测脑组织凋亡细胞和Caspase-3阳性细胞的变化。结果:灯盏花素降低脑缺血-再灌注大鼠神经病学评分,缩小脑梗死面积,降低脑组织凋亡细胞和Caspase-3阳性细胞数量,其作用强于硫酸镁。结论:灯盏花素通过抑制细胞凋亡可显著保护大脑缺血-再灌注引起的脑损伤,其作用优于单用硫酸镁。