Helixtalk - Rosalind Franklin University's College Of Pharmacy Podcast

In this episode, we review the important changes in 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines for hypertension management in adults.

In this episode, we discuss the difficulty in identifying adverse drug reactions (ADR) that ACTUALLY occur from a drug therapy, how tertiary drug references (such as Micromedex or LexiComp) may be misleading, and what tips and tricks you can use to recognize the most clinically relevant ADRs for patient counseling.

In this episode, we interview Dylan Moe, PharmD, our very own alumnus, regarding the new Illinois rule requiring patient counseling for all new prescriptions and inquire how the new rule has impacted his pharmacy, work environment, and his opinions on the implementation of the rule.

In this episode, we will discuss the current state of benzodiazepine use, expected trends in prescribing, and risks associated with use. Lastly, we will discuss techniques for ensuring that a benzodiazepine taper is performed in a safe manner with lowest risk of harm.

In this episode, we discuss new evidence for cardiovascular outcomes in diabetics based on the LEADER trial (liraglutide) and CANVAS trials (canagliflozin). We also discuss the new FDA warning for canagliflozin regarding amputation risk.

In this episode, we discuss updates in diabetes management that includes nuances from the ADA’s Standards of Care 2017. We also review some newer pharmacologic agents, a fixed dose GLP-1 agonist and basal insulin combinations.

In this episode, we discuss three "older" antihypertensives that are not preferred first-line therapies: clonidine, methyldopa, and minoxidil.  We outline why these agents are not first-line therapies and review their pharmacology and adverse effect profiles.

In this episode, we discuss the history of ergot products for treatment of migraines. We compare their safety and efficacy to newer agents such as the triptans and assess their resultant place in therapy.

In this episode, we discuss several aspects of serotonin syndrome including the typical clinical presentation, its etiology and common drug-induced combinations, and how to appropriately manage the syndrome.

In this episode, we discuss the pathophysiology of embolic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and review the use of left atrial occlusion devices, such as the WATCHMAN device, to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation without the use of anticoagulants like warfarin.

In this episode, we review the 12 recommendations from the 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.  These recommendations are intended to help curb the opioid epidemic and provide guidance to healthcare providers regarding safer use o

In this episode, we discuss the concept of professional advocacy, with a particular focus on how to advocate for the profession of pharmacy and what tools and organizations are available to assist in being an advocate.

In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Megan Hartranft the five oncology drugs that every pharmacist should know about, which is a great review for P4 students who are currently preparing for the NAPLEX.  We cover cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, methotrexate, doxorubicin, and vincristine.

In this episode, we discuss the newest definition of sepsis and septic shock according to the Sepsis-3 criteria and the 2016 Surviving Sepsis guidelines.  We also review the scoring systems of “qSOFA” and “SOFA” and use a patient case to help demonstrate the new definitions.

In this episode, we discuss the overuse of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy and several concerns regarding chronic use of this medication class, including hypomagnesemia, fracture risk, low seurm B12 levels, anemias, and increased risk of certain infections.

In this episode, we discuss the new FDA categorizations of biosimilars, the legal implications of biologic/biosimilar prescriptions, and the new "follow-on" approval pathway of Basaglar, a new insulin glargine U-100 product.

In this episode, we discuss the SPRINT trial (intensive vs. standard blood pressure control) using a case vignette of Mr. Wilson, a 55 year old patient presenting to a clinic with a blood pressure of 139/89 mmHg.

In this episode, we discuss precepting tips and clinical pearls with Dr. Brad Cannon.

In this episode, we discuss more of the most important drug interactions, including grapefruit juice with statins and calcium channel blockers, QT prolonging medications, levothyroxine with cations and PPIs, and PDE-5 inhibitors with nitrates.

In this episode, we discuss some of the most important drug interactions, including serotonin syndrome, St. John's wort, statins and CYP inhibitors, and antihypertensive medications with NSAIDs.