New FDA Approval: Parsabiv

Drug

Etelcalcitide [Parsabiv]

Indication

The treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in adults on dialysis.

Clinical, FDA Approval, Pharmacy School, PracticeBrandon DysonFebruary 13, 2017hyperparathyroidism, PTH, parathyroid gland, etelcalcitide, Parsabiv, secondary hyperparathyroidism, calcimimetic, phosphate binder, osteoclast, bone resorption, calcium metabolism, sensipar, cinacalcet

How to Be Awesome at Biostatistics and Literature Evaluation - Part I

As with all things tl;dr pharmacy, this post will (ironically) be stupendously long. But it will serve as your one stop shop for all things biostats and clinical literature related.

Clinical, Pharmacy School, PracticeBrandon DysonFebruary 6, 2017biostats, biostatistics, literature evaluation, p-value, clinical significance, type i error, type II error, null hypothesis, alternative hypothesis, confidence interval, standard deviation, mean, median, mode, normal distribution

New FDA Approval: Vemlidy

Drug

Tenofovir alafenamide [Vemlidy]

Indication

The treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) with compensated liver disease

Clinical, FDA Approval, Pharmacy School, PracticeBrandon DysonJanuary 12, 2017Vemlidy, Tenofovir Alafenamide, tenofovir, HBV, Hepatitis B, HIV drugs cheat sheet, Viread

New FDA Approval: Zinplava

Drug

Bezlotoxumab [Zinplava]

Indication

To reduce the recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in patients 18 years old and over.

FDA Approval, Clinical, Pharmacy School, PracticeBrandon DysonDecember 4, 2016zinplava place in therapy, zinplava, bezlotoxumab, bezlotoxumab place in therapy, zinplava adverse effects, bezlotoxumab adverse effects

How to Study for the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA)

There's a new acronym on the rise in pharmacy education. One that's striking fear in the hearts of students everywhere.

PCOA

The Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment.

Pharmacy School, Residency, Clinical, ProfessionalBrandon DysonNovember 20, 2016pharmacy curriculum outcomes assessment, PCOA, How to study for the PCOA, How to study for PCOA, What is the PCOA, What to do if you fail the PCOA, PCOA Pharmacy, PCOA Test, What is the PCOA pharmacy test

Heart Failure Part 3: Pharmacotherapy

Ok, so now onto pharmacotherapy - updated for the 2022 Guidelines!

Last time we talked about signs and symptoms and discussed the Frank-Starling curve. We are going to talk about the agents used in HF and how they affect this curve.

Clinical, Residency, PracticeBrandon DysonNovember 12, 2016heart failure, systolic heart failure, diastolic heart failure, HFpEF, HFrEF, HF, CHF, Clinical Pearls, congestive heart failure, cardiovascular, digoxin

Pain Management: The tl;dr Pharmacy Guide

Opioid abuse comes in many forms; and it's not just the stereotypical junkie that's doctor shopping and trying to refill their Norco 2 weeks early "because the cops stole them." Opioid abuse can also show up in more insidious ways.....

Clinical, Pharmacy School, PracticeSamuel OhOctober 13, 2016Clinical Pearls, Pain, Pharmacotherapy, COX-2, NSAIDs, Opioids, Tramadol, Pain Management, Neuropathy, Nociception, opioid conversions, opioid clinical pearls, opioid cheat sheet, pain management, pain management cheat sheet

New FDA Approval: Amjevita

Drug

Adalimumab-atto [Amjevita]

Indication

Amjevita is a biosimilar to adalimumab [Humira], so it has the same indications. It's used in inflammatory conditions mediated by the immune system

FDA Approval, Clinical, Pharmacy School, PracticeBrandon DysonOctober 10, 2016Amjevita, adalimumab, biosimilar, amjevita place in therapy, adalimumab place in therapy

HIV Boot Camp: Entry Inhibitors & Attachment Inhibitors

Well, we're coming full circle here. Our epic series on HIV is nearing its coda. We've only got one "class" of HIV meds left to talk about.

The Entry Inhibitors.

Clinical, Pharmacy School, Practice, ResidencyBrandon DysonSeptember 25, 2016hiv boot camp, entry inhibitor mechanism of action, hiv entry inhibitors, hiv cheat sheet, hiv clinical pearls, maraviroc dosing, enfuvirtide administration, enfuvirtide dosing, maraviroc drug interactions, hiv therapy cheat sheet, entry inhibitor clinical pearls, fusion inhibitor

The Complete (but Practical) Guide to Aminoglycosides

Before we get too far, let’s clarify what drugs fall in the aminoglycoside class. That way we’re all on the same page. When we talk about aminoglycosides, we’re referring to gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin.

HIV Boot Camp: Integrase Inhibitors

Integrase Inhibitors (also known as IN Strand Transfer Inhibitors...or commonly abbreviated as INSTIs) first appeared on the market in 2007. This may come as a surprise to you, but their job is to inhibit the HIV enzyme Integrase.

What does Integrase do?

Clinical, Pharmacy School, Practice, ResidencyBrandon DysonSeptember 6, 2016HIV medication dosing, HIV drug cheat sheet, HIV cheat sheet, HIV Clinical pearls, hiv therapy cheat sheet, HIV clinical pearls, HIV drugs cheat sheet, HAART cheat sheet, HAART, integrase inhibitors, dolutegravir, Triumeq, elvitegravir, raltegravir

Making Sense of Monoclonal Antibodies

Hello all. I've written another article for Pharmacy Times. We've written about monoclonal antibodies previously (here, and here)..but this is a more "consolidated" and coherent article on the subject.

You can check it out here:

Clinical, Pharmacy School, Practice, ResidencyBrandon DysonAugust 31, 2016pharmacy times, monoclonal antibody guide, monoclonal antibodies made simple, monoclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibody clinical pearls, monoclonal antibody nomenclature, mabs, -mab