O estudo caracterizou o perfil biodemográfico e clínico dos pacientes internados na clínica médica do Hospital Universitário da USP e os fármacos prescritos, avaliou as prescrições médicas em relação à ocorrência ou não de interações medicamentosas potenciais (IMP) e os fatores relacionados a elas para elaboração de instrumento educativo para auxiliar a atuação da equipe multidisciplinar na detecção de eventos adversos evitáveis potenciais de relevância clínica. Foram extraídos dos prontuários médicos os dados referentes à internação, identificação e estado clínico dos pacientes internados na clínica médica, entre março e agosto de 2006. Coletou-se ainda o diagnóstico principal no resumo de alta e o tempo de internação. Os fármacos prescritos foram coletados das prescrições médicas para análise da ocorrência de interações medicamentosas potenciais e classificação, empregando-se o banco de monografias Micromedex&#174; DrugReax&#174;. Empregou-se estatística descritiva e regressão logística multivariada na análise dos dados. Analisaram-se 5.666 prescrições médicas, a média de idade foi de 56,7±19,8 anos e o tempo médio de internação 10,7±9,4 dias. Os diagnósticos mais freqüentes foram broncopneumonia (138; 21,3%) e infarto agudo do miocárdio (57; 8,8%). Os grupos anatômicos mais freqüentemente prescritos, segundo o Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical, foram C (21,2%), A (17,5%), N (15,6%), B (15,0%) e J (13,6%). O número médio de fármacos por prescrição foi 5,7±2,9. Para a análise de IMP foram consideradas somente as prescrições com dois ou mais fármacos prescritos (5.336), das quais 3.097 (58,0%) apresentavam IMP. O número médio de fármacos entre essas prescrições foi 6,2±2,3. Observou-se associação significativa com as IMP identificadas no estudo: idade (p<0,001), tempo de internação (p<0,001), doenças cardiovasculares (p=0,0059) e número de fármacos (p<0,001). Tanto hipertensão arterial sistêmica quanto diabetes mellitus foram fatores de risco para ocorrência de IMP, com chances 4,93 e 2,79 vezes maiores de prescrição com IMP, respectivamente. Das 9.951 IMP observadas, 2.637 (26,5%) eram graves e bem documentadas. Observou-se associação entre o número de IMP graves e os pacientes com idade igual ou maior que 60 anos (p= 0,0007, chance 1,29 vezes maior). Diante do volume de informação sobre medicamentos e necessidade de consulta rápida para auxílio na tomada de decisões, os instrumentos educativos são de fundamental importância na garantia da qualidade e segurança da farmacoterapia. / The study characterized the demographic and clinical profile of patients admitted to the internal medicine unit of the USP University Hospital and the drugs prescribed, the prescriptions evaluated in relation to the occurrence of potential drug interactions (PDI) and factors related to them for developing educational tool to assist the performance of the multidisciplinary team in the detection of preventable adverse drug events of clinical relevance. Data were extracted from medical records regarding the identification and clinical status of patients from March to August 2006. It was still collected the main diagnosis in the discharge summary and the time of admission. The drugs prescribed were obtained from medical prescriptions for analysis of the occurrence of potential drug interactions and classification, using the database monographs Micromedex&#174; DrugReax&#174;. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used in data analysis. From 5.666 prescriptions evaluated, the average age was 56.7 ± 19.8 years and mean length of stay was 10.7 ± 9.4 days. The most common diagnoses were pneumonia (138, 21.3%) and heart infarct (57, 8.8%). The anatomical groups most frequently prescribed were C (21.2%), A (17.5%), N (15.6%), B (15.0%) and J (13.6%) according Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical. The average number of drugs per prescription was 5.7 ± 2.9. For the analysis of PDI were considered only the prescriptions with two or more drugs (5.336), and 3.097 (58.0%) presented PDI. The average number of drugs per prescription was 6.2 ± 2.3. There was a significant association the PDI identified in the study with: age (p <0.001), length of stay (p <0.001), cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.0059) and number of drugs prescribed (p <0.001). Both hypertension and diabetes mellitus were risk factors for the occurrence of PDI, with odds ratios 4.93 and 2.79, respectively. The frequency of major and well-documented drug interactions was 26.5%. From 9.951 PDI observed in 2.637 (26.5%) were considered major and well documented. There was association between the number of major PDI and elderly patients (p=0.0007, with odds ratio 1.29). Taking in consideration the excessive data available about drugs and the necessity of concise information to help clinical decisions, educational tools are essential to assure the quality and safety of pharmacotherapy.

Introdução - Os efeitos prejudiciais envolvendo medicamentos pela cres- cente população idosa impulsionaram pesquisas para desenvolvimento e aplicação de diversos métodos e instrumentos para identificar padrões inadequados de prescrição/ uso e problemas farmacoterapêuticos envolvendo este grupo populacional. Objetivo - Verificar a prevalência do uso de medicamentos potencialmente inapropriados listados nos Critérios de Beers 2003 pelas pessoas idosas de 60 anos ou mais do município de São Paulo, entrevistadas pelo Estudo SABE no ano de 2006. Métodos - Trata-se de um estudo transversal de base populacional, com utilização de dados secundários obtidos do Estudo SABE. A amostra constituída de 1258 idosos de 60 anos ou mais. Os dados finais foram ponderados e expandidos de modo a representar a população idosa no ano de 2006. Os medicamentos foram classificados de acordo com a Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. Para análise dos dados utilizou-se o pacote estatístico Stata com realização de regressão logística. Considerou-se nível de significância de p<0,05. Resultados Verificou-se a prevalência de 28 por cento de uso de MPI entre os idosos. Na análise pelo modelo de regressão logística multivariada as variáveis associadas ao consumo de MPI foram polifarmácia (p = 0,001), comorbidade (p = 0,011) e sexo (p = 0,007); ajustadas por fragilidade, idade e dificuldade em ABVD. Este estudo identificou 41 medicamentos ou classes potencialmente inadequados segundo os Critérios de Beers sendo utilizados pelos idosos moradores de São Paulo em 2006. Ao se analisar os MPI agrupados por sistema ATC notou-se que o de maior prevalência foi o grupo com os medicamentos que atuam no sistema cardiovascular (11,1 por cento ). Conclusões Entre outros problemas, os idosos, em especial as idosas, têm ainda a dificuldade de conviver com várias doenças o que leva a complexidade da terapêutica, em geral com polifarmácia e uso de medicamentos inadequados fatores ratificados pelo presente estudo situação agravada pelo contexto de alteração da farmacocinética, farmacodinâmica e as alterações relacionadas à composição corporal e fisiologia da idade avançada. Sugere-se a elaboração de método baseado em critérios explícitos de avaliação do uso de medicamentos por idosos adaptada a realidade nacional, levando-se em conta os medicamentos disponíveis no país, a opinião dos especialistas brasileiros e a literatura baseada em evidências na área de utilização de medicamentos / Introduction - The damaging effects involving drugs boosted by the growing elderly population research for developing and implementing a variety of methods and tools to identify patterns of inappropriate prescribing / use and drug related problems involving this population group. Objective - To assess the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) listed in the 2003 Beers criteria for people aged 60 or more of São Paulo, interviewed by the SABE survey in 2006. Methods - This is a population-based crosssectional study, using secondary data obtained from the SABE survey. The sample consisted of 1258 elderly aged 60 years or more. The final data were weighted and expanded to represent the elderly population in 2006. The drugs were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. For data analysis it was used the Stata® with performance of logistic regression. It was considered a significance level of p <0.05. Results - There was a prevalence of 28 per cent using MPI among the elderly. In the analysis by multivariate logistic regression model the variables associated with consumption of PIM were polypharmacy (p = 0.001), comorbidity (p = 0.011) and female gender (p = 0.007) adjusted for frailty, age and difficulty in ADL. This study identified 41 PIM or classes according to the Beers criteria being used by the elderly residents of Sao Paulo in 2006. When analyzing the PIM grouped by the ATC system was noted that the most prevalent was the group with drugs that act on the cardiovascular system (11.2 per cent ). Conclusion - Among other problems, the elderly, especially elderly women, still have the difficulty of living with various illnesses leading to the complexity of therapy, usually with polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use - factors that are ratified by this study - a situation exacerbated by the context of altered pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and changes related to body composition and physiology of aging. We suggest the preparation method based on explicit criteria for evaluating the use of medications by elderly adapted for the national reality, taking into account the available drugs in the country, the opinions of Brazilian experts and evidence-based literature in the area of drug use

Esse estudo pretendeu fazer uma análise custo-eficácia de duas estratégias de tratamento de hiperlipidemia em pacientes HIV/AIDS, uma de carácter nutricional e a outra de carácter medicamentosa, mais precisamente com pravastatina e bezafibrato, respectivamente para casos de colesterol e triglicérides elevados, num horizonte entre 3 e 12 meses. Os dados foram coletados no CRT-AIDS de São Paulo. Encontraram-se resultados similares em termos de eficácia no caso da hipercolesterolemia, a um custo menor via abordagem nutricional. As dosagens iniciais em ambos os grupos se revelaram similares. No caso da hipertrigliceridemia, verificou-se o mesmo efeito proporcional, apesar de que se deve considerar que as dosagens iniciais eram bastante diversas, apresentando os pacientes medicados níveis mais altos de triglicérides. Essa maior custo-eficácia da abordagem nutricional aqui encontrada, deve ser ponderada, também, com as limitações encontradas no estudo, quanto à abordagem de questões como a adesão dos pacientes aos tratamentos, e características do próprio processo diagnóstico. Apesar disso, os resultados do trabalho sugerem uma especial atenção com questões ligadas à dieta e estilo de vida, não num sentido competitivo, mas complementariamente em relação às terapias medicamentosas, quando estas se fizerem necessárias. / This study intended to make a cost-efficacy analysis of 2 options for the treatment of dyslipidemia in HIV/AIDS patients, the nutritional and the medical one, more strictly with pravastatin and bezafibrate, respectively for cases of raised cholesterol and triglycerides leveis, within 3 and 12 months. The data were collected at the CRT/AIDS de São Paulo. The study found similar results in terms of effectiveness in the hypercholesterolemia groups, with a smaller cost through the nutritional strategy. The initial leveis of cholesterol In both groups were similar. In the case of the hypertriglyceridemic groups the same proportional effect was verified,although it must be considered that the initial dosages were significantly diverse, presenting the medicated patients higher leveis of serum triglycerides. The higher cost-efficacy of nutritional strategies must be weighed with the limitations of this study, as the question of compliance to the treatments and even the diagnostic processo The criteria to choose the appropriate prices were basic to the differentiation between the options and they are a point of permanent discussion by themselves. In spite of these problems the study suggests that a special attention should be given to aspects linked with diet and life style in general, not in a competitive sense, but with complementary objetives in relation with the pharmacologic therapy, if the latter be necessary.

O estudo caracterizou o perfil biodemográfico e clínico dos pacientes internados na clínica médica do Hospital Universitário da USP e os fármacos prescritos, avaliou as prescrições médicas em relação à ocorrência ou não de interações medicamentosas potenciais (IMP) e os fatores relacionados a elas para elaboração de instrumento educativo para auxiliar a atuação da equipe multidisciplinar na detecção de eventos adversos evitáveis potenciais de relevância clínica. Foram extraídos dos prontuários médicos os dados referentes à internação, identificação e estado clínico dos pacientes internados na clínica médica, entre março e agosto de 2006. Coletou-se ainda o diagnóstico principal no resumo de alta e o tempo de internação. Os fármacos prescritos foram coletados das prescrições médicas para análise da ocorrência de interações medicamentosas potenciais e classificação, empregando-se o banco de monografias Micromedex&#174; DrugReax&#174;. Empregou-se estatística descritiva e regressão logística multivariada na análise dos dados. Analisaram-se 5.666 prescrições médicas, a média de idade foi de 56,7±19,8 anos e o tempo médio de internação 10,7±9,4 dias. Os diagnósticos mais freqüentes foram broncopneumonia (138; 21,3%) e infarto agudo do miocárdio (57; 8,8%). Os grupos anatômicos mais freqüentemente prescritos, segundo o Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical, foram C (21,2%), A (17,5%), N (15,6%), B (15,0%) e J (13,6%). O número médio de fármacos por prescrição foi 5,7±2,9. Para a análise de IMP foram consideradas somente as prescrições com dois ou mais fármacos prescritos (5.336), das quais 3.097 (58,0%) apresentavam IMP. O número médio de fármacos entre essas prescrições foi 6,2±2,3. Observou-se associação significativa com as IMP identificadas no estudo: idade (p<0,001), tempo de internação (p<0,001), doenças cardiovasculares (p=0,0059) e número de fármacos (p<0,001). Tanto hipertensão arterial sistêmica quanto diabetes mellitus foram fatores de risco para ocorrência de IMP, com chances 4,93 e 2,79 vezes maiores de prescrição com IMP, respectivamente. Das 9.951 IMP observadas, 2.637 (26,5%) eram graves e bem documentadas. Observou-se associação entre o número de IMP graves e os pacientes com idade igual ou maior que 60 anos (p= 0,0007, chance 1,29 vezes maior). Diante do volume de informação sobre medicamentos e necessidade de consulta rápida para auxílio na tomada de decisões, os instrumentos educativos são de fundamental importância na garantia da qualidade e segurança da farmacoterapia. / The study characterized the demographic and clinical profile of patients admitted to the internal medicine unit of the USP University Hospital and the drugs prescribed, the prescriptions evaluated in relation to the occurrence of potential drug interactions (PDI) and factors related to them for developing educational tool to assist the performance of the multidisciplinary team in the detection of preventable adverse drug events of clinical relevance. Data were extracted from medical records regarding the identification and clinical status of patients from March to August 2006. It was still collected the main diagnosis in the discharge summary and the time of admission. The drugs prescribed were obtained from medical prescriptions for analysis of the occurrence of potential drug interactions and classification, using the database monographs Micromedex&#174; DrugReax&#174;. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used in data analysis. From 5.666 prescriptions evaluated, the average age was 56.7 ± 19.8 years and mean length of stay was 10.7 ± 9.4 days. The most common diagnoses were pneumonia (138, 21.3%) and heart infarct (57, 8.8%). The anatomical groups most frequently prescribed were C (21.2%), A (17.5%), N (15.6%), B (15.0%) and J (13.6%) according Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical. The average number of drugs per prescription was 5.7 ± 2.9. For the analysis of PDI were considered only the prescriptions with two or more drugs (5.336), and 3.097 (58.0%) presented PDI. The average number of drugs per prescription was 6.2 ± 2.3. There was a significant association the PDI identified in the study with: age (p <0.001), length of stay (p <0.001), cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.0059) and number of drugs prescribed (p <0.001). Both hypertension and diabetes mellitus were risk factors for the occurrence of PDI, with odds ratios 4.93 and 2.79, respectively. The frequency of major and well-documented drug interactions was 26.5%. From 9.951 PDI observed in 2.637 (26.5%) were considered major and well documented. There was association between the number of major PDI and elderly patients (p=0.0007, with odds ratio 1.29). Taking in consideration the excessive data available about drugs and the necessity of concise information to help clinical decisions, educational tools are essential to assure the quality and safety of pharmacotherapy.

Introdução - Os efeitos prejudiciais envolvendo medicamentos pela cres- cente população idosa impulsionaram pesquisas para desenvolvimento e aplicação de diversos métodos e instrumentos para identificar padrões inadequados de prescrição/ uso e problemas farmacoterapêuticos envolvendo este grupo populacional. Objetivo - Verificar a prevalência do uso de medicamentos potencialmente inapropriados listados nos Critérios de Beers 2003 pelas pessoas idosas de 60 anos ou mais do município de São Paulo, entrevistadas pelo Estudo SABE no ano de 2006. Métodos - Trata-se de um estudo transversal de base populacional, com utilização de dados secundários obtidos do Estudo SABE. A amostra constituída de 1258 idosos de 60 anos ou mais. Os dados finais foram ponderados e expandidos de modo a representar a população idosa no ano de 2006. Os medicamentos foram classificados de acordo com a Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. Para análise dos dados utilizou-se o pacote estatístico Stata com realização de regressão logística. Considerou-se nível de significância de p<0,05. Resultados Verificou-se a prevalência de 28 por cento de uso de MPI entre os idosos. Na análise pelo modelo de regressão logística multivariada as variáveis associadas ao consumo de MPI foram polifarmácia (p = 0,001), comorbidade (p = 0,011) e sexo (p = 0,007); ajustadas por fragilidade, idade e dificuldade em ABVD. Este estudo identificou 41 medicamentos ou classes potencialmente inadequados segundo os Critérios de Beers sendo utilizados pelos idosos moradores de São Paulo em 2006. Ao se analisar os MPI agrupados por sistema ATC notou-se que o de maior prevalência foi o grupo com os medicamentos que atuam no sistema cardiovascular (11,1 por cento ). Conclusões Entre outros problemas, os idosos, em especial as idosas, têm ainda a dificuldade de conviver com várias doenças o que leva a complexidade da terapêutica, em geral com polifarmácia e uso de medicamentos inadequados fatores ratificados pelo presente estudo situação agravada pelo contexto de alteração da farmacocinética, farmacodinâmica e as alterações relacionadas à composição corporal e fisiologia da idade avançada. Sugere-se a elaboração de método baseado em critérios explícitos de avaliação do uso de medicamentos por idosos adaptada a realidade nacional, levando-se em conta os medicamentos disponíveis no país, a opinião dos especialistas brasileiros e a literatura baseada em evidências na área de utilização de medicamentos / Introduction - The damaging effects involving drugs boosted by the growing elderly population research for developing and implementing a variety of methods and tools to identify patterns of inappropriate prescribing / use and drug related problems involving this population group. Objective - To assess the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) listed in the 2003 Beers criteria for people aged 60 or more of São Paulo, interviewed by the SABE survey in 2006. Methods - This is a population-based crosssectional study, using secondary data obtained from the SABE survey. The sample consisted of 1258 elderly aged 60 years or more. The final data were weighted and expanded to represent the elderly population in 2006. The drugs were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. For data analysis it was used the Stata® with performance of logistic regression. It was considered a significance level of p <0.05. Results - There was a prevalence of 28 per cent using MPI among the elderly. In the analysis by multivariate logistic regression model the variables associated with consumption of PIM were polypharmacy (p = 0.001), comorbidity (p = 0.011) and female gender (p = 0.007) adjusted for frailty, age and difficulty in ADL. This study identified 41 PIM or classes according to the Beers criteria being used by the elderly residents of Sao Paulo in 2006. When analyzing the PIM grouped by the ATC system was noted that the most prevalent was the group with drugs that act on the cardiovascular system (11.2 per cent ). Conclusion - Among other problems, the elderly, especially elderly women, still have the difficulty of living with various illnesses leading to the complexity of therapy, usually with polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use - factors that are ratified by this study - a situation exacerbated by the context of altered pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and changes related to body composition and physiology of aging. We suggest the preparation method based on explicit criteria for evaluating the use of medications by elderly adapted for the national reality, taking into account the available drugs in the country, the opinions of Brazilian experts and evidence-based literature in the area of drug use

Objetivos: Um dos objetivos deste estudo é avaliar as intervenções farmacêuticas realizadas durante o primeiro ano de atuação de farmacêutico junto a equipe multidisciplinar de uma unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) de hospital de pronto-socorro, público, localizado em Porto Alegre, RS. O estudo se propôs, ainda, a estabelecer uma metodologia para a priorização do cuidado farmacêutico aos pacientes críticos desse hospital. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo transversal retrospectivo para avaliar as intervenções farmacêuticas no período de maio de 2013 a abril de 2014, a partir de um banco de dados do Serviço de Farmácia. Para estabelecer uma ordem de prioridade para o acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico foi avaliada, prospectivamente, a complexidade da farmacoterapia dos pacientes, através de uma ferramenta chamada Índice de Complexidade da Farmacoterapia adaptado para paciente crítico (ICFT PC), verificando seu grau de associação com o Escore Fisiológico Agudo Simplificado (SAPS3), utilizado como índice prognóstico pela equipe médica. Resultados: No período avaliado retrospectivamente, 426 pacientes internaram na UTI, sendo que 70,6% deles (301) tiveram pelo menos uma intervenção do farmacêutico na sua terapia medicamentosa. Das 602 intervenções realizadas, 53,5% foram relativas à situações qualificadas como erro de medicação. 77,7% do total de intervenções realizadas foram aceitas, sendo o percentual de aceitação superior para as intervenções realizadas devido à erros de medicação (83,2%). Com relação à complexidade da farmacoterapia, 160 pacientes foram avaliados, dos quais 57% eram homens. O ICFT PC dos pacientes variou de 77 a 499, sendo a mediana igual a 164,5. A correlação entre o SAPS3 e o ICFT PC foi de 0,204. Conclusões: O acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico de pacientes críticos permite não apenas a detecção e correção de potenciais erros de medicação, como também a otimização dos resultados terapêuticos e o uso racional de medicamentos. A utilização de uma metodologia para organização deste cuidado farmacêutico e priorização do atendimento à pacientes com maior risco associado à complexidade da farmacoterapia é uma maneira de proporcionar uma assistência mais efetiva, segura e de qualidade aos pacientes do Sistema Único de Saúde. / Objectives: One of the goals of this study is evaluating pharmaceutical interventions done during the first year of pharmaceutical action together with a multidisciplinary team on an intensive care unit (ICU) inside of a public emergency hospital, located in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This study is also proposing to establish a methodology to prioritize the pharmaceutical care for critical patients in that hospital. Methods: It was done a retrospective transversal study to evaluate pharmaceutical interventions from May, 2013 to April, 2014, based on a database offered by the Pharmacy Service. To establish a priority order for the pharmacist monitoring, the complexity of patient’s pharmacotherapy was valued, prospectively, through a tool called Pharmacotherapy Complexity Index, which was adapted for critical patients (Medication Regimen Complexity Index for critical patient – MRCI CP). Thus it was possible to verify its level of association with Simplified Acute Physiologic Score (SAPS3) that is used as prognostic index by medical team. Results: On the period evaluated, 426 patients were hospitalized at ICU, 70.6% of them (301) needed at least one pharmaceutical intervention on their drug therapy. Out of the 602 completed interventions, 53.5% were related to situations of medication error. 77.7% of the interventions were accepted; the acceptance percentage was higher for interventions that were done due to medication errors (83.2%). In relation to complexity of pharmacotherapy, 160 patients were evaluated and 57% of them were men. The patients MRCI CP had a range of 77 to 499, being the median 164.5. The correlation between SAPS3 and MRCI CP was 0.204. Conclusions: The pharmacist monitoring of critical patients allows detection and correction of potential medication errors, besides optimization of therapeutic results and rational use of medicines. The use of a methodology to organize this pharmaceutical care and to prioritize the treatment of patients with increased risk associated to complexity of pharmacotherapy is a way of supply an effective, secure and qualified assistance for patients of Unique Health System.

Objectives: To determine if a flipped classroom improved student end of module exam performance in a pharmacotherapy oncology module. Method: Third year pharmacy students in the Class of 2013experienced the Pharmacotherapy Oncology Module (15 contact hours) as traditional lectures with optional case studies as supplemental homework (ungraded). The Class of 2014 experienced the same module content with a flipped classroom approach. The middle 10 contact hours were flipped as follows: 10 Vodcasts (8 hours total time) and 6 hours of in-class case studies in place of optional case studies. Students were instructed to watch Vodcasts before in-class case studies, but were not held accountable (i.e. quizzed) for pre-class preparation. The exam questions were identical in both cohorts. Performance on exam questions covered with the flipped approach was compared between the two cohorts using ANCOVA with prior academic performance variables (GPA) as covariates. Results: The students experiencing the flipped classroom approach performed poorer on exam questions covering flipped topics than the cohort that received traditional lecture with optional case studies with previous GPA used as a covariate (p , 0.05). Implications: A flipped classroom approach to incorporate active learning does not necessarily improve student performance. Limitations of this flipped classroom experiment include long vodcasts (30 to 50 minutes) and lack of student accountability for watching vodcasts. Further research is needed to determine optimal classroom flipping techniques that result in improved student performance.

Objective. To assess the impact of a case-based toxicology elective course on student learning in related required courses and student performance on the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) examination. Design. A case-based clinical toxicology elective course that contained topics from 2 required courses, Pharmacology III and Pharmacotherapy II, was offered in the spring 2009 to second- and third-year pharmacy students. Assessment. Scores on the Toxicology subsection of the PCOA of students enrolled in the elective were higher than those of students not enrolled (91.3% ± 4.1 vs. 67.2% ± 5.7). Enrollment in the elective was related to increased examination scores among Pharmacotherapy II students (89.5% ± 2.0 vs. 83.9% ± 1.8). Students indicated on course survey instruments that they were satisfied with the new elective offering. Conclusions. A toxicology elective provided a clinically relevant, active-learning experience for pharmacy students that addressed a curricular need within the college and increased examination scores.

<p>Cetirizine, an H₁-antihistamine, is prescribed for allergic disorders. It exists as a racemic mixture, with levocetirizine being the active enantiomer. The central nervous system side-effects of H₁-antihistamines are caused by their penetration into the brain. In this thesis the plasma pharmacokinetics, transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and H₁ receptor occupancy of cetirizine enantiomers was investigated <i>in vivo</i> in guinea pigs. The transport across the BBB was quantified using the microdialysis technique. Stereoselective brain distribution was investigated by measuring both unbound and total concentrations in plasma and brain. The time aspects of the H₁ receptor occupancy of levocetirizine was studied in the brain and the periphery.</p><p>The plasma pharmacokinetics of cetirizine was stereoselective with clearance and volume of distribution of levocetirizine being approximately half that of dextrocetirizine. This was mainly due to the differences in plasma protein binding of the enantiomers. The stereoselectivity in brain distribution indicated by the partition coefficient K_p (total AUC ratio brain to plasma) was caused by stereoselective plasma protein binding. The transport across the BBB measured in this thesis by the unbound partition coefficient K_p,uu (unbound AUC ratio brain to plasma) was the same for the two enantiomers. Binding within the brain was also not significantly different. The H₁ receptor occupancy of levocetirizine in brain lagged behind the plasma concentrations whereas it was not delayed with respect to the brain concentrations. This indicates that the delayed brain H₁ receptor occupancy of levocetirizine is caused by a slow transport across the BBB.</p><p>In summary, the results of this thesis emphasize the importance of measuring both the unbound and total concentrations in blood and brain to characterize stereoselective brain distribution. The thesis also emphasize the importance of taking local brain pharmacokinetics into consideration in understanding pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships of drugs with central activity.</p>

<p>Cefuroxime is a renally eliminated antibiotic used against a variety of different bacterial infections. The pharmacokinetics (PK) for cefuroxime was studied in 97 hospitalized patients using population analysis. To be able to measure cefuroxime in human serum a new sensitive analytical method was developed using mass spectrometry detection. The method was validated and shown to be sensitive and selective. Cystatin C was found to be a better covariate for cefuroxime clearance compared to the traditionally used creatinine clearance (CLcr). This relation might be useful when designing dosing strategies for cefuroxime and other renally eliminated drugs. </p><p>The time-courses of the biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and body temperature were studied for the first 72 hours of cefuroxime treatment and was related to the duration of illness previous treatment with cefuroxime and to time to step-down of treatment. When duration of illness was short, CRP and SAA were showed increasing levels. None of the biomarkers could be used to differentiate between early or late step-down of therapy.</p><p>By use of known PK and pharmacodynamic (PD) principles, dosing strategies based on CLcr for cefuroxime were estimated using minimization of a risk function. The risk function was constructed with the aim to expose patients to cefuroxime concentration above minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for 50 % of the dosing interval and to minimize the amount of drug administered in excess to reach the aim. Based on evaluation using wild type MIC distributions for <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> improved dosing strategies were selected.</p><p>In vitro experiments were performed exposing <i>Streptococcus pyogenes</i> to constant concentration of benzylpenicillin, cefuroxime, erythromycin, moxifloxacin or vancomycin. A semi-mechanistic PK/PD model characterizing the time-course of the antibacterial effect was developed using all data simultaneously. Internal validation showed the model being predictive and robust. </p>