The landmark REDUCE-IT trial demonstrated that icosapent ethyl (IPE) 4 g daily significantly reduced cardiovascular events in high-risk patients when added to statin therapy, but is a fancy fish oil supplement really worth our coin?

Guest Authors:  Joseph Nardolillo, PharmD, BCACP and Vivian Cheng, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP

Music by Good Talk

Smoking remains a habit for many people, even among those who are motivated to quit. Historically, most smoking cessation interventions have targeted individuals who are ready to quit smoking in the next 30 days, overlooking those who are not yet ready to quit.  Perhaps an abstinence game, Take a Break, can move people in pre-contemplation and contemplation toward quitting.

Guest Authors:  Anna Rhett, PharmD and Ha K. Pham, PharmD, BCACP

Music by Good Talk

It is well established that overuse of short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) increases the risk of poor asthma control, exacerbations, and increased mortality.  Several studies have combined a beta-agonist with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). The combination provides symptom relief and decreases the risk of poor outcomes.  The days of using albuterol monotherapy should be coming to an end; two drugs are better than one!

Guest Authors:  Katherine Montag Schafer, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES and Stefanie C. Nigro, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES

Music by Good Talk

Health professionals must deal with a lot of uncertainty in their work, such as weighing the risks and benefits of various treatment options, determining whether a patient’s symptoms are an adverse effect of medication therapy, or deciding if adding a new drug to the formulary will be cost-effective. A lower tolerance of uncertainty increases the risk of burnout and other stress-related harms. A new study sheds light on several contextual factors that contribute to low tolerance of uncertainty and some potential opportunities for intervention.

Guest Author: Brent Reed, PharmD, MS, BCCP

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The 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Heart Failure Guidelines is a much-needed update and consolidates previously published recommendations. In the written commentary we describe the top ten things every clinician should know about the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Heart Failure Guidelines.  This podcast episode highlights some of the key recommendations from the guidelines and addresses some of the practical implications.

Guest Authors:  Madison Yates, PharmD and Megan Supple, PharmD, BCACP, CPP

Music by Good Talk

Unsurprisingly, medication burden increases as we age. At each clinic visit, we consider starting new medications, but it’s still relatively uncommon to critically evaluate medications that could be deprescribed. How can we change the culture to embrace deprescribing as an integral part of patient care?  The OPTIMIZE study was a provider- and patient-level educational intervention that attempted to increase deprescribing.

Guest Authors:  Kashelle Lockman, PharmD, MA and Sarah Greiner, PharmD

Music by Good Talk

Most practitioners won’t hesitate to start drug therapy in an adult patient with chronically elevated blood pressure (BP) … except, perhaps, if the patient is pregnant. In this vulnerable population, we frequently take a “wait-and-see” approach and withhold therapy unless the BP elevations become severe. But is this the right decision?

Guest Authors:  Timothy D. Gladwell, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP and Scott Baker, PharmD, BCPS

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Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is quickly emerging as one of the most common reasons for both liver cirrhosis and liver transplant in the United States – soon predicted to overtake hepatitis C virus as the predominant etiology.  Currently, there are no FDA-approved medications to treat these disorders.  Hopefully, that will soon change.

Guest Author: Scott Malinowski, PharmD

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Pain and hypertension are two of the most prevalent conditions worldwide. Acetaminophen is often considered the “go-to” and the “safe” over-the-counter analgesic for patients with hypertension because it is not commonly believed to increase blood pressure or cardiovascular events. But is that assumption grounded in evidence?

Guest Authors: Lizzie Baumeister, PharmD and Austin Morgan, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES

Music by Good Talk