PHARMACY COLUMN
Pharmacy Section: Year in Review
By Eljim P. Tesoro, PharmD, BCPS, Chair, Pharmacy Leadership Committee
Another successful year is in the books for the Pharmacy
Committee! Our recruitment efforts have resulted in over 160
pharmacists as members (an increase from last year), with nine
new international pharmacists. Over 60 pharmacists attended the
annual meeting in Hawaii last October with various members
presenting their research, moderating sessions and providing
lectures. I would like to acknowledge the service and dedication
of my outstanding committee members this past year, and I
would like to welcome our new committee members: Karen
Berger, Sarah Clark, Russell Dixon, Mathew Jones, Xi Liu-DeRyke
and Kristin Slown.
Pharmacotherapy of Neurocritical Care Series (PONS)
The new PONS series for 2017 has been created and made
available on the NCS website. New topics this year include shiver
control in TTM, neurostimulant use, updates in anticoagulant
reversal, LDL in ICH, updates in alteplase for stroke and super
refractory status epilepticus. This on-demand webinar series
currently offers a total of 18 core pharmacotherapy topics with six
new releases scheduled for 2018. The PONS series is an innovative
tool to promote dissemination of updated information to
clinicians as well as trainees and aligns nicely with the educational
mission of the society. It is one of the most visited site on the NCS
website. Thanks to this year’s PONS chairs, Theresa Human and
Mehrnaz Pajoumand, for their work on this amazing resource.
Jeffrey Mucksavage will be transitioning into Theresa’s position on
the PONS committee for next year.
Invited Clinical Pharmacist (ICP) Program
The ICP program was designed and implemented this year to
provide NCS members a venue to initiate or expand clinical
pharmacy services in the neuro ICU. Applicants can request for a
senior member of the pharmacy section to visit their institution to
meet appropriate stakeholders, give a presentation, and/or round
with the clinical team to provide insight and recommendations
on developing pharmacist involvement. Both the applicant
and ICP are encouraged to present their experiences at the next
annual meeting. Applications will be accepted for 2018 on the
NCS website (http://www.neurocriticalcare.org/Science-Research/
Invited-Clinical-Pharmacist-Program). Thanks to Salia Farrokh
(sfarrok1@jhmi.edu) for her work on this initiative!
International Outreach
One of our charges this year was to increase membership,
particularly for our international pharmacists. We were able
to secure complimentary one-year memberships for eight
pharmacists from around the world, including Thailand, Chile,
the UK, Singapore, Germany, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Thanks to
Jeffrey Mucksavage for leading this charge. We are looking forward
to engaging all our members on the global stage.
In addition, Gretchen Brophy has been touring the world as
the vice president of NCS. She presented on neurocritical care
pharmacology at the Sociedad Chilena de Medicina Intensiva
(SOCHIMI) Congress in April. She then chaired the ENLS
workshop at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
(AACN) meeting in May. Just recently, she attended the World
Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine
(WFSICCM) in Rio, Brazil. She has met many clinicians, including
pharmacists, and has established future contacts and opportunities
for our members.
Research
Our pharmacy research group has been busy with several
investigations, including studies on intraventricular antibiotics,
prothrombin complex concentrate use, neurointerventional oral
antiplatelet use and stress ulcer prophylaxis use. Our most recent
study on hyponatremia led by Theresa Human was published
earlier this year.
This year, we were able to secure funding assistance for a
pharmacist member to attend investigator training programs
through the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) to
help develop clinical research skills and support the research
mission of NCS. This year’s recipient is Keaton Smetana from the
Ohio State University. We look forward to his contributions to
the section’s research endeavors. If you are interested in taking
advantage of this program in 2018, please contact Aaron Cook
(amcook0@uky.edu) or Jimmi Hatton-Kolpek (jhatt1@uky.edu).
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