Research Spotlight

Ather, N. and Roberts, W.C. (2020). “Cardiovascular ochronosis.” Cardiovasc Pathol 48: 107219.

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In this review, we summarize previously reported case reports (n=66) in which the presence of ochronotic pigment was found in one or more cardiovascular structures either at necropsy or after operative excision of a cardiac valve or portions of arteries or both. As illustration, we describe black pigment in operatively excised aortic valves and aorta in 2 patients, both probably examples of secondary ochronosis. Ochronosis appears to have fascinated a number of prominent historical figures in medicine, and this review also summarizes their important contributions to this topic.

Lat, I., Paciullo, C., Daley, M.J., MacLaren, R., Bolesta, S., McCann, J., Stollings, J.L., Gross, K., Foos, S.A., Roberts, R.J., Acquisto, N.M., Taylor, S., Bentley, M., Jacobi, J. and Meyer, T.A. (2020). “Position Paper on Critical Care Pharmacy Services (Executive Summary): 2020 Update.” Crit Care Med 48(9): 1375-1382.

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OBJECTIVES: Provide a multiorganizational statement to update the statement from a paper in 2000 about critical care pharmacy practice and makes recommendations for future practice. DESIGN: The Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Clinical Pharmacy Critical Care Practice and Research Network, and the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists convened a joint task force of 15 pharmacists representing a broad cross-section of critical care pharmacy practice and pharmacy administration, inclusive of geography, critical care practice setting, and roles. The Task Force chairs reviewed and organized primary literature, outlined topic domains, and prepared the methodology for group review and consensus. A modified Delphi method was used until consensus (> 66% agreement) was reached for each practice recommendation. Previous position statement recommendations were reviewed and voted to either retain, revise, or retire. Recommendations were categorized by level of ICU service to be applicable by setting, and grouped into five domains: patient care, quality improvement, research and scholarship, training and education, and professional development. MAIN RESULTS: There are 82 recommendation statements: forty-four original recommendations and 38 new recommendation statements. Thirty-four recommendations were made for patient care, primarily relating to critical care pharmacist duties and pharmacy services. In the quality improvement domain, 21 recommendations address the role of the critical care pharmacist in patient and medication safety, clinical quality programs, and analytics. Nine recommendations were made in the domain of research and scholarship. Ten recommendations are in the domain of training and education and eight recommendations regarding professional development. CONCLUSIONS: The statements recommended by this taskforce delineate the activities of a critical care pharmacist and the scope of pharmacy services within the ICU. Effort should be made from all stakeholders to implement the recommendations provided, with continuous effort toward improving the delivery of care for critically ill patients.

Lat, I., Paciullo, C., Daley, M.J., MacLaren, R., Bolesta, S., McCann, J., Stollings, J.L., Gross, K., Foos, S.A., Roberts, R.J., Acquisto, N.M., Taylor, S., Bentley, M., Jacobi, J. and Meyer, T.A. (2020). “Position Paper on Critical Care Pharmacy Services: 2020 Update.” Crit Care Med 48(9): e813-e834.

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OBJECTIVES: To provide a multiorganizational statement to update recommendations for critical care pharmacy practice and make recommendations for future practice. A position paper outlining critical care pharmacist activities was last published in 2000. Since that time, significant changes in healthcare and critical care have occurred. DESIGN: The Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Clinical Pharmacy Critical Care Practice and Research Network, and the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists convened a joint task force of 15 pharmacists representing a broad cross-section of critical care pharmacy practice and pharmacy administration, inclusive of geography, critical care practice setting, and roles. The Task Force chairs reviewed and organized primary literature, outlined topic domains, and prepared the methodology for group review and consensus. A modified Delphi method was used until consensus (> 66% agreement) was reached for each practice recommendation. Previous position statement recommendations were reviewed and voted to either retain, revise, or retire. Recommendations were categorized by level of ICU service to be applicable by setting and grouped into five domains: patient care, quality improvement, research and scholarship, training and education, and professional development. MAIN RESULTS: There are 82 recommendation statements: 44 original recommendations and 38 new recommendation statements. Thirty-four recommendations represent the domain of patient care, primarily relating to critical care pharmacist duties and pharmacy services. In the quality improvement domain, 21 recommendations address the role of the critical care pharmacist in patient and medication safety, clinical quality programs, and analytics. Nine recommendations were made in the domain of research and scholarship. Ten recommendations were made in the domain of training and education and eight recommendations regarding professional development. CONCLUSIONS: Critical care pharmacists are essential members of the multiprofessional critical care team. The statements recommended by this taskforce delineate the activities of a critical care pharmacist and the scope of pharmacy services within the ICU. Effort should be made from all stakeholders to implement the recommendations provided, with continuous effort toward improving the delivery of care for critically ill patients.

Lat, I., Paciullo, C., Daley, M.J., MacLaren, R., Bolesta, S., McCann, J., Stollings, J.L., Gross, K., Foos, S.A., Roberts, R.J., Acquisto, N.M., Taylor, S., Bentley, M., Jacobi, J. and Meyer, T.A. (2020). “Position Paper on Critical Care Pharmacy Services (Executive Summary): 2020 Update.” Am J Health Syst Pharm Aug 20;zxaa217. [Epub ahead of print].

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OBJECTIVES: Provide a multiorganizational statement to update the statement from a paper in 2000 about critical care pharmacy practice and makes recommendations for future practice. DESIGN: The Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Clinical Pharmacy Critical Care Practice and Research Network, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists convened a joint task force of 15 pharmacists representing a broad cross-section of critical care pharmacy practice and pharmacy administration, inclusive of geography, critical care practice setting, and roles. The Task Force chairs reviewed and organized primary literature, outlined topic domains, and prepared the methodology for group review and consensus. A modified Delphi method was used until consensus (>66% agreement) was reached for each practice recommendation. Previous position statement recommendations were reviewed and voted to either retain, revise, or retire. Recommendations were categorized by level of ICU service to be applicable by setting, and grouped into five domains: patient care, quality improvement, research and scholarship, training and education, and professional development. MAIN RESULTS: There are 82 recommendation statements: forty-four original recommendations and 38 new recommendation statements. Thirty-four recommendations were made for patient care, primarily relating to critical care pharmacist duties and pharmacy services. In the quality improvement domain, 21 recommendations address the role of the critical care pharmacist in patient and medication safety, clinical quality programs, and analytics. Nine recommendations were made in the domain of research and scholarship. Ten recommendations are in the domain of training and education and eight recommendations regarding professional development. CONCLUSIONS: The statements recommended by this taskforce delineate the activities of a critical care pharmacist and the scope of pharmacy services within the ICU. Effort should be made from all stakeholders to implement the recommendations provided, with continuous effort toward improving the delivery of care for critically ill patients.

Li, Y., Burgman, B., McGrail, D.J., Sun, M., Qi, D., Shukla, S.A., Wu, E., Capasso, A., Lin, S.Y., Wu, C.J., Eckhardt, S.G., Mills, G.B., Li, B., Sahni, N. and Yi, S.S. (2020). “Integrated Genomic Characterization of the Human Immunome in Cancer.” Cancer Res Aug 27;canres.0384.2020. [Epub ahead of print.].

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Alterations in immune-related pathways are common hallmarks of cancer. A comprehensive understanding of how cancer mutations rewire immune signaling networks and functional output across cancer types is instrumental to realize the full potential of immunotherapy. Here we systematically interrogated somatic mutations involved in immune signaling that alter immune responses in cancer patients. To do so, we developed a Network-based Integrative model to Prioritize Potential immune respondER genes (NIPPER). Identified mutations were enriched in essential protein domains and genes identified by NIPPER were associated with responsiveness to multiple immunotherapy modalities. These genes were used to devise an interactome network propagation framework integrated with drug-associated gene signatures to identify potential immunomodulatory drug candidates. Together, our systems-level analysis results help interpret the heterogeneous immune responses among patients and serve as a resource for future functional studies and targeted therapeutics.