Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science
Cardiovascular Health and Disease
“Despite advances in medical therapy there are less then optimal outcomes in patients with heart failure and strides need to be made to enhance non-pharmacological strategies,” observes Assistant Professor Kristin Watson, PharmD. Poor adherence to prescribed regimens and dietary recommendations can lead to exacerbation and complications of heart failure. The American Society of Health System Pharmacists Research and Education Foundation has awarded Watson a Young investigator research award to study self-administration of medications during hospitalization in conjunction with patient education by both pharmacists and nurses. This case-control study, a scientific collaboration with Patricia Uber, PharmD, clinical pharmacist with University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and Kelly Summers, PharmD, assistant professor, will compare a special program of medication reinforcement to those receiving the usual care. Heart failure patients’ clinical outcomes and hospitalization will be compared to the control group.
Anemia is a treatable condition affecting both the quantity and quality of hemoglobin in the blood. Data from observational studies suggest that among patients with heart failure, anemia is independently associated with poor clinical outcomes, including an increased risk of symptomatic heart failure, hospitalization and death. Administration of epoetin and intravenous iron regimens have been associated with a number of positive outcomes, including decreased hospital length of stay. However, to date, the studies had not been conducted to assess whether the cost of epoetin therapy offset total costs for treating exacerbations of heart failure. Assistant Professor, Christine K. Choy, PharmD, and her collaborators at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, conducted an economic decision analysis to evaluate the cost of epoetin therapy in patients with heart failure and anemia. In their cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure and anemia, the costs associated with outpatient epoetin and intravenous iron therapy exceeded savings in hospitalization costs by over $80,000 per 100 patients.
Articles about PPS’s most recent research in cardiovascular health and disease are noted below:
Choy CK, Rodgers JE, Nappi JM, Haines ST. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart failure. Pharmacotherapy 2008;28:170-92.
Choy CK, Spencer AP, Nappi JM. Prevalence of anemia in heart failure clinic patients and cost analysis of erythropoietin treatment. Pharmacotherapy 2007;27(5):707-13.
Chung AH, Watson K. Cefazolin-induced hypoprothrombinemia. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2008 May 1;65.
Haines ST, Nutescu E. Venous thromboembolism. In: Chisholm M, Wells BG, Schwinghammer TL, Malone PM, Zolesar JM, DiPiro JT, editors. Pharmacotherapy: principles and practice. New York: McGraw Hill; 2007.
Haines ST, Witt DM, Nutescu E. Venous thromboembolism. In: DiPiro J, Talbert R, Yee G, Matzke G, Wells B, and Posey M, editors. Pharmacotherapy: a pathophysiological approach. 7th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. forthcoming 2008.
Summers K, Watson K, Michocki R. Treatment of hypertensive crisis. In Applied therapeutics: clinical use of drugs. 9th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. forthcoming 2008.
Watson K, Seybert AL, Saul MI, Lee JL, Kane-Gill SL. A comparison of outcomes for patients receiving bivalirudin and unfractionated heparin in percutaneous coronary intervention Pharmacotherapy 2007;27:647-56.