PharmDs explore new treatments, vaccines for infectious diseases

To mark the end of 2023, we compiled a list of this year’s Pharmacology Consult columns, in which our contributing PharmDs dig deep into the newest research to report on emerging therapies and vaccines for infectious diseases.

Below are the 12 columns we published this year.

Real-world impact of nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir on SARS-CoV-2 infection

Kelly M. Percival, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, reviewed data on the real-world impact of Paxlovid for the treatment of COVID-19. “As the COVID-19 pandemic heads into its 4^th year, it is a good time to reflect on strides made for those with mild-to-moderate disease not requiring hospitalization,” she wrote. Read more.

GAS on a stewardship fire: Treatment alternatives for pediatric group A strep pharyngitis

Hunter O. Rondeau, PharmD, and Jennifer Ross, PharmD, reported on available treatment alternatives for pediatric group A Streptococcus amid a shortage of beta-lactams. “Shortages of antimicrobials have and will continue to plague treatment plans for infectious diseases,” they wrote. Read more.

Pneumococcal vaccination: A public health priority

Jeff Brock, PharmD, MBA, BCIDP, tried to clear up some of the confusion brought about by evolving recommendations for adult pneumococcal vaccination. “Health care providers need to educate their patients about the risks of pneumococcal disease and the benefits of vaccination,” Brock wrote. Read more.

C. auris: An urgent threat to US hospitals

Elisa Worledge, PharmD, and Kati Shihadeh, PharmD, BCIDP, reviewed the evolving epidemiology of Candida auris and reported on new guidance and emerging treatments for the resistant fungus, which “has been deemed a pathogen of concern because of its transmissibility, ability to survive outside a human host longer than other Candida species, the difficulty in identifying it and its growing resistance to antifungals.” Read more.

The changing landscape of OPAT to CopAT

Percival explored the changing landscape of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) programs for conditions that traditionally require weeks or months of parenteral treatment and the factors involved in selecting optimal oral therapies for complex outpatient antibiotic therapy (CopAT). Read more.

Changes on horizon may help lessen C. difficile burden

Ross reported on some of the novel prevention and treatment strategies for Clostridioides difficile, a leading cause of hospital infections in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored challenges in the prevention and treatment of health care-associated infections. Read more.

A treatment dilemma: Extensively drug-resistant Shigella

“There has been an alarming increase in extensively drug-resistant Shigella infections reported through national surveillance systems,” Brock begins this article, in which he reviews the epidemiology and recommended treatment options for Shigella bacteria. Read more.

Promising agents in the pipeline for invasive fungal infections

One thing our PharmDs do frequently is explore the treatment pipeline for promising agents in development for important infections. Kira Voyer, PharmD, and Shihadeh did that for invasive fungal infections, including those caused by Aspergillus species, Candida species, Cryptococcus species and Pneumocystis species. Read more.

Inappropriate antibiotics for upper respiratory infections increase adverse events

“Most inappropriate or unnecessary antibiotic prescribing is for upper respiratory infections,” Percival writes in this review, which focuses on inappropriate antibiotic use and the underappreciated harm of adverse drug events. Read more.

Flu treatment shift or drift? A focus on combination therapy

Ross explored the potential of combination therapy to improve clinical outcomes in patients with influenza, as it has done for other viral illnesses like HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus. Read more.

Diagnostic stewardship and AI could improve UTI care

Brock tackled a commonly encountered issue for stewardship pharmacists — antibiotic use in asymptomatic bacteriuria — and a couple of ways that UTI care could be improved, including through diagnostic stewardship and artificial intelligence. Read more.

Prevention is key: A guide to STI prophylaxis

Marcus Hayner, PharmD, and Shihadeh reviewed recent developments in prevention methods for sexually transmitted infections, including doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis — commonly called doxy-PEP — and the NIH trial of a meningococcal group B vaccine for gonorrhea prevention. Read more.