PHARMACY
Neurocritical Care Society
Pharmacy Section Year in Review
By Jason Makii, PharmD, MBA, FCCM, FNCS, BCPS, BCCCP, Chair, Pharmacy Section Leadership Committee
The pharmacy section continues to expand,
and we have celebrated numerous
successes this past year. Continued
recruitment efforts have resulted in over
175 pharmacist members within the
section, an increase from last year. Over 65
pharmacists attended the annual meeting
in Florida last September with various
members presenting their research,
moderating sessions and speaking on various topics throughout
the annual meeting. I would like to acknowledge and thank the
outstanding committee members for their service and
dedication this past year. A special thanks to Eljim Tesoro for his
outstanding leadership of the Pharmacy Section for the past
three years; the successes and growth of this section described in
this review are a direct result of his leadership. I would also like
to recognize Dr. Gretchen Brophy, who completed her term as
the first pharmacist president of NCS this year. Her support and
dedication to NCS and the Pharmacy Section have resulted in
the continued growth and engagement of neurocritical care
pharmacists within the society.
Pharmacotherapy of Neurocritical Care Series (PONS)
The third volume of PONS topics were released this past year.
Topics covered in volume 3 include Substance Withdrawal in
Neurocritical Care, Challenges in ICU Care–The Parkinson
Patients, Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstrictive Syndrome (RCVS),
Indications and Considerations for the Use of Antiplatelet Agents
in Neurocritical Care, Medication Safety in Neurocritical Care,
and Non-opioid Options for Treating Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Induced Headache. This on-demand webinar series currently
offers 22 core pharmacotherapy topics with four new releases
planned for 2019. The PONS series is an innovative tool to
promote dissemination of updated information to clinicians as
well as trainees and aligns with the educational mission of the
society. It is one of the most visited pages on the NCS website.
Thank you to this year’s PONS chairs, Mehrnaz Pajoumand and
Jeffrey Mucksavage. This is a particularly valuable resource for
trainees and nurses.
Learn more here: https://www.neurocriticalcare.org/education/
digital-education/pons
Invited Clinical Pharmacist (ICP) Program
The ICP program was designed to promote and increase
neurocritical care pharmacy services to medical centers and
universities across the country. Applicants can request a senior
pharmacy section member to visit their institution to meet
with neurocritical care and hospital stake holders, attend
multidisciplinary rounds and provide a guest lecture. This
past year, Dr. Gretchen Brophy visited the UC Davis Health
System and interacted with the neurocritical care team on
rounds and through a grand rounds presentation. Kendra
Schomer, PharmD, and Lara Zimmerman, MD, were the site
leads who coordinated the visit and presented their experience
at the Pharmacy Specialty Focus Corner at the annual meeting.
Applications for the 2019 ICP are available on the NCS website.
This is a great resource for institutions that would like to
initiate &/or expand pharmacy services in their neurocritical
care areas.
Learn more here: https://www.neurocriticalcare.org/research/ncrc
Publications
2018 marked another productive year for members of the
pharmacy section for articles in Neurocritical Care journal. A few
publication highlights include:
• Gabriel Fontaine reported on three-factor versus fourfactor
prothrombin complex concentrate for the emergent
management of warfarin-associated intracranial hemorrhage.
(Neurocrit Care (2018) 28: 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s12028-017-0374-y)
• Theresa Human was the lead author on a randomized trial
of brief versus extended seizure prophylaxis after aneurysmal
subarachnoid hemorrhage (Neurocrit Care (2018) 28: 169.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12028-017-0440-5)
• Dr. Human also contributed with Amanda Lamer-Rosen to
the standards for neurologic critical care units: a statement
for healthcare professionals from the neurocritical care
society (Neurocrit Care (2018) 29: 145. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s12028-018-0601-1).
• Denise Rhoney reported on the influence of single-dose
antibiotic prophylaxis for early-onset pneumonia in highrisk
intubated patients (Neurocrit Care (2018) 28: 362.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12028-017-0490-8)
Neurocritical Care ON CALL
Neurocritical Care ON CALL was released earlier this year and
included the following pharmacist contributors: Stephanie
Bennett, Yana Bukovskaya, Jennifer Bushwitz, Meghan Caylor,
Sarah Clark, Kristen Ditch, Michael Erdman, Salia Farrokh,
Shannon Giddens, Kristy Greene, Leslie Hamilton, Theresa
Human, Mathew Korobey, Lisa Kurczewski, Kimberly Levasseur-
Franklin, Jason Makii, Casey May, Christopher Morrison, Kent
Owusu, Mehrnaz Pajoumand, Dennis Parker, Deepa Patel, Brianne
Ritchie, Amanda Lamer-Rosen, Eljim Tesoro, Andrea Tully, and
Ryan Waybright.
Learn more here: https://oncall.neurocriticalcare.org/home
NCS Annual Meeting
Over 65 pharmacist members attended the Annual Meeting
in Boca Raton, Florida this past September. The pharmacy
section had great engagement throughout the annual meeting
with speakers, moderators and workshop/course directors.
Thank you to Leslie Hamilton and Christopher Morrison
for promoting pharmacist involvement through the Annual
Meeting Planning Committee.
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/s12028-018-0601-1
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/s12028-017-0490-8
/home
