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Objective: Identify characteristics of Kentucky community pharmacists and community pharmacists’ practice environment associated with utilization of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting Program (KASPER). Methods: Surveys were mailed to all 1,018 Kentucky pharmacists with a KASPER account and an additional 1,000 licensed pharmacists without an account. Bivariate analyses examined the association between KASPER utilization and practice type (independent or chain) and practice location (rural or urban). A multivariate Poisson regression model with robust error variance estimated risk ratios (RR) of KASPER utilization by characteristics of pharmacists’ practice environment. Results: Responses were received from 563 pharmacists (response rate 27.9%). Of these, 402 responses from community pharmacists were included in the analyses. A majority of responding pharmacists (84%) indicated they or someone in their pharmacy had requested a patient’s controlled substance history since KASPER’s inception. Bivariate results showed that pharmacists who practiced in independent pharmacies reported greater KASPER utilization (94%) than pharmacists in chain pharmacies (75%; p

In the HIV-infected population there is a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, conditions that often coexist with drug and alcohol dependence. Symptoms associated with psychiatric disorders are frequently managed with benzodiazepines, a class of medication often abused. We examined whether HIV-infected patients were more likely to fill a benzodiazepine prescription than their uninfected counterparts using a privately insured, nationally representative sample receiving clinical care between January 2007 and December 2009. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to quantify the likelihood of receiving a benzodiazepine were calculated using multivariate logistic regression models. We examined the presence of interaction between HIV infection and sex using backwards elimination and by comparing stratum-specific OR to identify clinically meaningful differences. Overall, 323,796 beneficiaries were included in the sample, of which 723 were HIV infected. Bivariate analyses showed that compared to the uninfected sample, HIV-infected patients were more likely to have filled a benzodiazepine prescription (24% vs. 19%) during the study period. HIV-infected patients were also more likely to be male (80% vs. 44%), black (21% vs. 7%) and have a diagnosis of depression (12% vs. 8%) or insomnia (6% vs. 3%) than were uninfected patients. Adjusted for other covariates, HIV infection was associated with an increase (OR): 1.68, 95% CI: 1.39, 2.02) in the likelihood of filling a benzodiazepine prescription. When stratified by sex, HIV-infected males were more likely (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.67) than uninfected males to fill a benzodiazepine prescription while there was no observed difference in the likelihood of filling a benzodiazepine prescription between HIV-infected and uninfected females (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.73, 1.70). Our findings suggest that HIV-infected patients, particularly HIV-infected males, are more likely to fill benzodiazepine prescriptions than their uninfected counterparts, highlighting the need for further research to investigate reasons for these observed differences.

Routine monitoring of a bipolar atrial electrogram (AEG) simultaneously with the electrocardiogram is a useful and safe clinical technique for the diagnosis of complex cardiac dysrhythmias. The large-amplitude A waves of the AEG can be more reliably identified than the corresponding low-amplitude p waves of the electrocardiogram. Epicardial wires placed during cardiac surgery, catheter-mounted endocardial electrodes, and esophageal electrodes can all be used for routine AEG monitoring. A multipurpose pulmonary arterial catheter with a pair of electrodes, and esophageal electrodes can all be used for routine AEG monitoring. A multipurpose pulmonary arterial catheter with a pair of electrodes mounted on the proximal shaft can be used for combined AEG and hemodynamic monitoring. The equipment needed for AEG monitoring and recording consists of an additional bedside amplifier with 12- to 100-Hz band-pass filter, a dual-channel display scope, and a dual-channel strip chart recorder. Care must be used to keep the atrial electrodes electrically isolated for patient safety. In addition to enhancing the diagnosis and management of dysrhythmias, recording an AEG provides a signal that is suitable for automatic processing.