Challenges and opportunities related to penicillin allergy in the Veterans Health Administration: a narrative review
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kouma M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10644167 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesThe advent of germline testing as a standard-of-care practice for certain tumor types and patients presents unique opportunities and challenges for the field of precision oncology. This article describes strategies to address workforce capacity, organizational structure, and genetics education needs within the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the expectation that these approaches may be applicable to other health care systems.ObservationsGermline information can have health, reproductive, and psychosocial implications for veterans and their family members, which can pose challenges when delivering germline information in the setting of cancer care. Additional challenges include the complexity inherent in the interpretation of germline information, the national shortage of genetics professionals, limited awareness and knowledge about genetic principles among many clinicians, and organizational barriers, such as the inability to order genetic tests and receive results in the electronic health record. These challenges demand thoughtful implementation planning at the health care system level to develop sustainable strategies for the delivery of high-quality genetic services in precision oncology practice.ConclusionsThe VA is uniquely positioned to address the integration of germline genetic testing into precision oncology practice due to its outsized role in treating veterans with cancer, training the health care workforce, and developing, testing, and implementing innovative models of clinical care.
| S-EPMC7473729 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate opportunities for assessing penicillin allergies among patients presenting to dental clinics.DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study.SettingVA dental clinics.PatientsAdult patients with a documented penicillin allergy who received an antibiotic from a dentist between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018, were included.MethodsChart reviews were completed on random samples of 100 patients who received a noncephalosporin antibiotic and 200 patients who received a cephalosporin. Each allergy was categorized by severity. These categories were used to determine patient eligibility for 3 testing groups based on peer-reviewed algorithms: (1) no testing, (2) skin testing, and (3) oral test-dose challenge. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to compare facility and patient demographics first between true penicillin allergy, pseudo penicillin allergy, and missing allergy documentation, and between those who received a cephalosporin and those who did not at the dental visit.ResultsOverall, 19% lacked documentation of the nature of allergic reaction, 53% were eligible for skin testing, 27% were eligible for an oral test-dose challenge, and 1% were contraindicated from testing. Male patients and African American patients were less likely to receive a cephalosporin.ConclusionsMost penicillin-allergic patients in the VA receiving an antibiotic from a dentist are eligible for penicillin skin testing or an oral penicillin challenge. Further research is needed to understand the role of dentists and dental clinics in assessing penicillin allergies.
| S-EPMC9726497 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In a cross-sectional study of 20 Massachusetts long-term care (LTC) facilities, 19% (n = 449) of residents received antibiotics, with approximately one-third having a documented penicillin allergy. This documented allergy decreased the likelihood of prescribing beta-lactam antibiotics for infections. Improved penicillin allergy assessments and delabeling could optimize antibiotic prescribing in LTC settings.
| S-EPMC11488468 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPenicillin allergy labels are commonly acquired in childhood and lead to avoidance of first-line penicillin antibiotics. Understanding the health outcomes of penicillin allergy testing (PAT) can strengthen its place in antimicrobial stewardship efforts.ObjectivesTo identify and summarize the health outcomes of PAT in children.MethodsEmbase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS and CINAHL were searched from inception to 11 Oct 2021 (Embase and MEDLINE updated April 2022). Studies that utilized in vivo PAT in children (≤18 years old) and reported outcomes relevant to the study objectives were included.ResultsThirty-seven studies were included in the review, with a total of 8411 participants. The most commonly reported outcomes were delabelling, subsequent penicillin courses, and tolerability to penicillin courses. Ten studies had patient-reported tolerability to subsequent penicillin use, with a median 93.6% (IQR 90.3%-97.8%) of children tolerating a subsequent course of penicillins. In eight studies, a median 97.3% (IQR 96.4%-99.0%) of children were reported as 'delabelled' after a negative PAT without further definition. Three separate studies verified delabelling by checking electronic or primary care medical records, where 48.0%-68.3% children were delabelled. No studies reported on outcomes relating to disease burden such as antibiotic resistance, mortality, infection rates or cure rates.ConclusionsSafety and efficacy of PAT and subsequent penicillin use was the focus of existing literature. Further research is required to determine the long-term impact of delabelling penicillin allergies on disease burden.
| S-EPMC10068421 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveOnline food delivery (OFD) platforms offer consumers a convenient and fast delivery service of foods and drinks sourced from foodservice partners (e.g. restaurants, quick service restaurants). There is a need to assess the impact of this emergent segment of the foodservice sector on diet and diet-related health. The aim of this narrative review was to describe the OFD sector in Australia, its use and identify potential ways to include OFD platforms in existing public health nutrition policy.DesignA search was conducted in peer-reviewed and grey literature. Sources were analysed and synthesised to report the characteristics of OFD platforms, delivery process, users and potential drivers of usage. The aim and scope of public health nutrition policies were analysed to identify ways of including OFD platforms.SettingAustralia.ParticipantsGeneral population.ResultsThere are three main operators with 9000-16 000 foodservice partners based predominantly in the main cities of Australia. OFD revenue has grown by 72 % in the last 5 years and is predicted to increase driven by usage by working adults with high disposable income who demand convenience. Current policies and initiatives aimed at manufacturers, retailers and foodservice outlets do not specifically regulate OFD platforms, although there is scope for these to be extended to such platforms.ConclusionsOFD platforms are disruptors of the foodservice sector. Innovative and consistent health policy options that target the unique challenges and opportunities posed by OFD platforms are required to limit the potentially negative impact of OFD platforms on diet and diet-related health.
| S-EPMC7613985 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis article reviews the specific mechanism of ferroptosis in cancer and introduces in detail the opportunities and challenges of ferroptosis-based cancer therapy, aiming to provide a new research direction for tumor therapy.BackgroundFerroptosis is a newly discovered programmed non-apoptotic form of cell death. Involving changes in metabolic processes and the accumulation of peroxidation caused by factors such as drugs or genes which destruct the cell membrane structure, this kind of cell death has been linked with the pathological process of diseases such as tumors, neurological diseases, ischemia-reperfusion injury, kidney injury, and hemopathy. This kind of cell death can play a vital role in inhibiting tumorigenesis by eliminating the adaptive characteristics of malignant cells and removing cells that are unable to obtain key nutritional factors or are infected and damaged by environmental changes. The present focus of research on the regulation of ferroptosis-related diseases involves the use of small molecule compounds.MethodsWe described the mechanism of ferroptosis and its related small molecules compounds, which involved in the regulatory mechanism, and analyzed the role and regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis in different tumors.ConclusionsThis article reviewed the mechanism of ferroptosis and its role and mechanism in different tumors, and showed it can inhibit the occurrence and development of different tumors and may reduce the adverse effects of current treatment methods.
| S-EPMC8576726 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo explore the progress that the Veterans Health Administration has made to minimize the impact of the penicillin (PCN) allergy label, we determined the proportion of Veterans who reported a PCN-class allergy at the time of hospitalization and described antibiotic use in hospitalizations with and without a PCN-class allergy.DesignCross-sectional study.ParticipantsNational sample of 6,541,299 acute care admissions between 2011 and 2022.MethodsWe calculated the prevalence of PCN-class allergies on admission and used Poisson regression to compare patterns of antibiotic use between hospitalizations with and without a PCN-class allergy.ResultsThe prevalence of PCN-class allergies on admission decreased from 12.99% to 11.20%. Use of cefazolin and non-pseudomonal third-generation cephalosporins increased regardless of PCN-class allergy status ("PCN-class allergy only" +11.46%, "No antibiotic allergy" +4.92%). The prevalence ratio (PR) for antibiotic use in hospitalizations with a PCN-class allergy compared to hospitalizations without antibiotic allergies, decreased for anti-Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus agents (1.26 [1.25, 1.28] to 1.15 [1.13, 1.17]), carbapenems (1.59 [1.54, 1.65] to 1.47 [1.41, 1.53]), and aztreonam (23.89 [22.45, 25.43] to 17.57 [15.90, 19.42]); and increased for fluoroquinolones (1.58 [1.56, 1.60] to 2.15 [2.09, 2.20]).ConclusionsPrevalence of PCN-class allergies is declining and narrow-spectrum βL use is rising among hospitalized Veterans. Prescribing differences are decreasing between hospitalizations with and without a reported PCN-class allergy, except for aminoglycosides, clindamycin, and fluoroquinolones. These findings can serve to identify areas of focus for future analyses or interventions related to the impact of the PCN allergy label on antibiotic selection.
| S-EPMC11869061 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionExperience of sexual violence (SV) is prevalent among the Veteran population and associated with many negative mental and physical health outcomes including suicidal behavior, obesity, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and poor sexual and reproductive functioning. Although Veterans of any gender may experience SV, women Veterans are particularly at risk. Research on SV among Veterans has focused primarily on the experience of SV during military service (military sexual trauma, MST), although Veterans may also experience SV prior to and following military service. The aim of the current study was to construct a more comprehensive method of identifying SV among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients as documented in medical records in a national cohort of 325,907 Veterans who used VHA care between 2000 and 2018 in order to inform future research in this area.MethodWe used three indicators to identify SV in VHA medical records: (a) the MST screen, (b) the sexual violence item of the intimate partner violence (IPV) screen, and (c) International Classification of Disorders (ICD) codes (versions 9 and 10) representing adult sexual abuse and assault. Univariate descriptive analyses were conducted to determine the exclusivity and overlap of the SV measures.ResultsThe universal MST screen was the most commonly identified indicator of SV in the data. However, including the IPV and ICD indicators identified an additional 5% of Veterans who had experienced SV, accounting for thousands of patients.DiscussionThe results of the current study indicate that using the three-pronged approach of SV collection is a more comprehensive method of identifying patient SV experience through VHA medical records and contributes uniquely to the methodology of studying social factors' impact on health care. Clinical screening and documentation of SV allow for the assessment of health impacts and trends through examination of medical records data.
| S-EPMC9481829 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The relatively new discipline of pharmacovigilance (PV) aims to monitor the safety of drugs throughout their evolution and is essential to discovering new drug risks. Due to their specific and complex physiology, children, pregnant women, and elderly adults are more prone to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Additionally, the lack of clinical trial data exacerbates the challenges faced with pharmacotherapy in these populations. Elderly patients tend to have multiple comorbidities often requiring more extensive medication, which adds additional challenges for healthcare professionals (HCPs) in delivering safe and effective pharmacotherapy. Clinical trials often have inherent limitations, including insufficient sample size and limited duration of research; as some ADRs are attributed to long-term use of a drug, these may go undetected during the course of the trial. Therefore, the implementation of PV is key to insuring the safe and effective use of drugs in special populations. We conducted a thorough review of the scientific literature on PV systems across the European Union, the United States, and China. Our review focused on basic physiological characteristics, drug use, and PV for specific populations (children, pregnant women, and the elderly). This article aims to provide a reference for the development of follow-up policies and improvement of existing policies as well as provide insight into drug safety with respect to patients of special populations.
| S-EPMC10540608 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Secondary prevention with penicillin aims to prevent further episodes of acute rheumatic fever and subsequent development of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Penicillin allergy, self-reported by 10% of the population, can affect secondary prevention programs. We aimed to assess the role for (i) routine penicillin allergy testing and the (ii) safety of penicillin allergy delabeling approaches in this context. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP, ISRCTN, and CPCI-S to identify the relevant reports. We found 2419 records, but no studies addressed our initial question. Following advice from the WHO-Guideline committee and experts, we identified 6 manuscripts on allergy testing focusing on other populations showing that the prevalence of allergy confirmed by testing was low and the incidence of life-threatening reactions to BPG was very low (< 1-3/1000 individuals treated). A subsequent search addressed penicillin allergy delabeling. This found 516 records, and 5 studies addressing the safety of direct oral drug challenge vs. skin testing followed by drug administration in patients with suspected penicillin allergy. Immediate allergic reactions of minor severity were observed for a minority of patients and occurred less frequently in the direct drug challenge group: 2.3% vs. 11.5%; RR = 0.25, 95%CI 0.15-0.45, P < 0.00001, I2 = 0%. No anaphylaxis or deaths were observed. Severe allergic reactions to penicillin are extremely rare and can be recognized and dealt by trained healthcare workers. Confirmation of penicillin allergy diagnosis or delabeling using direct oral drug challenge or penicillin skin testing seems to be safe and is associated with a low rate of adverse reactions.
| S-EPMC11193836 | biostudies-literature