The Effect of Pharmacist-Led Telemedicine on A1c Reduction During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: Diabetes remains a prevalent metabolic chronic condition. The pandemic promoted the use of telemedicine for patients with chronic conditions. Telemedicine offers innovative methods to achieve glycemic control for these patients. This study evaluates the effectiveness of telemedicine with pharmacists in reduction of glycated hemoglobin (A1C) for patients with diabetes. Methods: This study (n = 112) was a single-center, retrospective study that evaluated the effectiveness of patients enrolling in pharmacist-led diabetes management utilizing telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with an A1C >9 mg/dL were contacted for telemedicine with the pharmacy team. The three groups included: patients agreeing to the telemedicine visit (n = 28), patients that declined the telemedicine visit (n = 42), and patients that did not answer the telephone when offered the telemedicine visit (n = 28). Results: Our study revealed a significant change in the primary endpoint A1C (2.6 + 2.4, p = 0.0144) for the patients who accepted telemedicine visits when compared with the other study groups. The secondary endpoints, changes in A1C (when evaluating employment status, number of clinic visits, number of chronic conditions, gender, race) and changes in body mass index, revealed no significant changes. Conclusion: Diabetes management using telemedicine with pharmacists impacts glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. This study demonstrates patients who accepted pharmacist-led telemedicine had a reduction in A1C. Further research may reveal long-term benefits on clinical outcomes after utilizing this service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Label-free impedimetric immunosensor for point-of-care detection of COVID-19 antibodies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed enormous challenges for existing diagnostic tools to detect and monitor pathogens. Therefore, there is a need to develop point-of-care (POC) devices to perform fast, accurate, and accessible diagnostic methods to detect infections and monitor immune responses. Devices most amenable to miniaturization and suitable for POC applications are biosensors based on electrochemical detection. We have developed an impedimetric immunosensor based on an interdigitated microelectrode array (IMA) to detect and monitor SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human serum. Conjugation chemistry was applied to functionalize and covalently immobilize the spike protein (S-protein) of SARS-CoV-2 on the surface of the IMA to serve as the recognition layer and specifically bind anti-spike antibodies. Antibodies bound to the S-proteins in the recognition layer result in an increase in capacitance and a consequent change in the impedance of the system. The impedimetric immunosensor is label-free and uses non-Faradaic impedance with low nonperturbing AC voltage for detection. The sensitivity of a capacitive immunosensor can be enhanced by simply tuning the ionic strength of the sample solution. The device exhibits an LOD of 0.4 BAU/ml, as determined from the standard curve using WHO IS for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulins; this LOD is similar to the corresponding LODs reported for all validated and established commercial assays, which range from 0.41 to 4.81 BAU/ml. The proof-of-concept biosensor has been demonstrated to detect anti-spike antibodies in sera from patients infected with COVID-19 within 1 h. Photolithographically microfabricated interdigitated microelectrode array sensor chips & label-free impedimetric detection of COVID-19 antibody.

Label-free impedimetric immunosensor for point-of-care detection of COVID-19 antibodies

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed enormous challenges for existing diagnostic tools to detect and monitor pathogens. Therefore, there is a need to develop point-of-care (POC) devices to perform fast, accurate, and accessible diagnostic methods to detect infections and monitor immune responses. Devices most amenable to miniaturization and suitable for POC applications are biosensors based on electrochemical detection. We have developed an impedimetric immunosensor based on an interdigitated microelectrode array (IMA) to detect and monitor SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human serum. Conjugation chemistry was applied to functionalize and covalently immobilize the spike protein (S-protein) of SARS-CoV-2 on the surface of the IMA to serve as the recognition layer and specifically bind anti-spike antibodies. Antibodies bound to the S-proteins in the recognition layer result in an increase in capacitance and a consequent change in the impedance of the system. The impedimetric immunosensor is label-free and uses non-Faradaic impedance with low nonperturbing AC voltage for detection. The sensitivity of a capacitive immunosensor can be enhanced by simply tuning the ionic strength of the sample solution. The device exhibits an LOD of 0.4 BAU/ml, as determined from the standard curve using WHO IS for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulins;this LOD is similar to the corresponding LODs reported for all validated and established commercial assays, which range from 0.41 to 4.81 BAU/ml. The proof-of-concept biosensor has been demonstrated to detect anti-spike antibodies in sera from patients infected with COVID-19 within 1 h. Photolithographically microfabricated interdigitated microelectrode array sensor chips & label-free impedimetric detection of COVID-19 antibody.

Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccines and Strategies to Improve Acceptability and Uptake.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on communities across the United States (US). Three vaccines have now been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for use in the US. However, barriers to vaccination exist, some of which are well documented in the literature, including lack of knowledge, fear, accessibility, mistrust in the healthcare system, and systemic and operational obstacles. Vaccine hesitancy in the US could potentially hinder all the efforts and resources being used to beat COVID-19, which has resulted in more than 594 000 deaths in the US per the CDC as of early June 2021. In order to overcome this pandemic, vaccine distribution and uptake is crucial. Pharmacists play a crucial role as healthcare providers as they can dismantle vaccine hesitancy and make an outstanding impact on the efforts to overcome this pandemic.