The University of Florida College of Pharmacy is the pharmacy school of the University of Florida. The College of Pharmacy was founded in 1923 and is located on the university's Gainesville, Florida main campus. The college offers the entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree as the first professional degree for students entering the profession. The college offered a Working Professional Pharm.D. (WPPD) program for bachelor's-trained pharmacists already in practice with its last cohort of students enrolled in 2016. Additionally, various graduate degrees are offered. The professional program is fully accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education. Since 2011 the college has been offering online degree programs at the graduate level, such as the Forensic Science Program, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Program and Clinical Toxicology Program. In total the College of Pharmacy received over $28.3 Million in total Research Revenues in 2019.The College of Pharmacy is one of six schools that compose the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center. In addition, there are two campus sites in Jacksonville and Orlando.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D.D..
Telemedicine usage surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping how patients access healthcare services. Its sustained role in post-pandemic healthcare may uncover long-term trends and variations in utilization. To characterize telemedicine utilization from 2019 to 2024 and identify patient characteristics associated with telemedicine use. This retrospective cohort study analyzed outpatient visits across five hospitals within the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) from January 1, 2019, to September 30, 2024. The primary outcome was whether each outpatient encounter was conducted via telemedicine (vs in-person). We used multivariable logistic regression clustering on patients to assess associations between telemedicine use and patient- and encounter-level characteristics, including demographics, insurance, patient portal use, income, clinical comorbidity, distance from care, provider specialty, encounter type, hospital index, and visit year. The study included 46,149,734 visits among 2,248,341 patients. Telemedicine surged from 1
The management of serious Serratia marcescens (SEM) infections is controversial due to the uncertainty of clinically significant ampC beta-lactamase overexpression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in clinical outcomes in patients with SEM bloodstream infection (BSI) or pneumonia (PNA) who receive ceftriaxone (CRO), piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP), or cefepime (FEP).Table 1.Patient demographics and clinical characteristics of SEM managementTable 2.Effect Modification of the Primary and Secondary Outcomes Comparing Individual Beta-Lactams This IRB-approved retrospective, multi-center cohort study included adult patients hospitalized with SEM BSI or PNA over a 10-year period at UF Health. Based on the definitive antibiotic regimen, patients were assigned to CRO, TZP or FEP groups. The primary composite endpoint was treatment failure: persistent infection (fever or leukocytosis on day five of antibiotics), recurrent infection, or microbiological relapse. Secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay (LOS) and escalation of therapy. A total of 291 patients were included in the study and stratified by definitive antibiotic regimen: CRO (n=45), TZP (n=55), and FEP (n=191). Treatment failure did not differ significantly between CRO (48.9%), TZP (50.9%), and FEP (52.4%), p=0.911. There was no difference in median LOS, with 25.2 days (IQR: 11.2 - 37.1) in the CRO group, 14 days (IQR: 7.1-34.1) in the TZP group, and 17.5 days (IQR: 8.8 - 29.8) in the FEP group, p=0.784. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the CRO (20%) and TZP (32.7%) groups required escalation of therapy compared to FEP (7.3%), p< 0.001. Treatment with CRO or TZP was not associated with increased treatment failure rates in adult patients being treated for SEM BSI or PNA, but were associated with increased incidence of antibiotic escalation. All Authors: No reported disclosures
Ketamine, a rapid-acting N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has therapeutic potential beyond anesthesia, including treatment-resistant depression. However, its low oral bioavailability due to extensive first-pass metabolism and high abuse potential limit outpatient use. This study describes the design, synthesis, and in vivo evaluation of a ketamine prodrug conjugated to tyrosine methyl ester via a hydrolytically sensitive tertiary carbamate linker to improve oral absorption, achieve sustained release, and reduce abuse risk. The prodrug displayed moderate aqueous solubility and good chemical stability at physiological pH but was rapidly metabolized in enzyme-containing media via demethylation of the tyrosine methyl ester to a demethylated prodrug, with no detectable ketamine release in vitro. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies in mice demonstrated that the prodrug underwent rapid metabolic conversion, resulting in detectable, though low, levels of released ketamine in plasma, liver, and brain. However, ketamine release was limited, and oral administration yielded very low bioavailability. These findings indicate that while tertiary carbamate-based prodrugs can undergo in vivo activation, the current design does not sufficiently promote ketamine release or systemic exposure. Further structural optimization is required to improve oral bioavailability and achieve therapeutically meaningful delivery of ketamine.
Background:Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (DHP-CCB) are widely prescribed antihypertensives whose adverse effects may trigger unnecessary prescribing of additional medications, termed prescribing cascades (PC). We aimed to identify potential DHP-CCB-induced PCs using high-throughput sequence symmetry analysis (HTSSA). Methods:Using Medicare claims data (2011-2020), we identified new users aged ≥66 years with continuous enrollment ≥360 days before and ≥180 days after DHP-CCB initiation. We screened for initiation of 446 "marker" drug classes within ±90 days of DHP-CCB initiation. Sequence ratios compared marker drug initiation after versus before DHP-CCB initiation. Adjusted sequence ratios (aSR), accounting for prescribing trends over time, were calculated with 95% CIs >1 considered statistically significant. Clinical experts classified statistically significant signals as potential PCs through consensus. Results:Among 388,862 DHP-CCB initiators (mean age 76.6 ± 7.5 years; 62.5% women, 92.3% with hypertension), 82 of 446 marker drug classes had significantly elevated aSRs, of which 24 were classified as potential PCs. Strongest signals ranked by highest aSR included other systemic hemostatics (aSR 2.99; 95% CI, 1.10-8.16), other nasal preparations (aSR 1.99; 95% CI, 1.47-2.70), and drugs used in erectile dysfunction (aSR 1.85; 95% CI, 1.27-2.70). Other clinically relevant signals, ranked by number needed to harm (lowest to highest), included sulfonamides (NNTH 104; 95% CI, 98-111), electrolyte solutions (NNTH 216; 95% CI, 196-241), and osmotically acting laxatives (NNTH 710; 95% CI, 540-1056). Conclusion:Potential PCs identified in this Medicare cohort reflected known and underrecognized adverse effects of DHP-CCBs. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical consequences of these PCs.
