An update of the pharmacological treatment options for generalized myasthenia gravis in adults with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies.

PURPOSE: This review aims to provide an update on current pharmacological agents for the management of generalized myasthenia gravis (MG). SUMMARY: MG is an autoimmune disease characterized by impaired neuromuscular transmission and muscle weakness. Most patients have autoimmune antibodies to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, with treatments aimed at eliminating or decreasing levels of autoantibodies. Limitations of current treatments for generalized MG include limited efficacy and serious adverse effects, indicating a continued need for new treatments. Efgartigimod alfa, a biologic newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration, provides a novel treatment option for patients with chronic generalized MG. CONCLUSION: While the landscape for treatment of generalized MG has expanded over recent years, there is still an unmet need for patients for whom multiple lines of treatment have failed. The introduction of neonatal Fc receptor antagonists such as efgartigimod alfa may have an immediate impact in patients for whom standard-of-care therapy has failed.

Publication rates of hematology/oncology abstracts presented at major pharmacy association meetings.

INTRODUCTION: Professional conferences are where research findings are initially presented. Studies suggest many research ideas presented at conferences are never published. Previous studies have demonstrated that the full publication rate of abstracts presented at pharmacy meetings is approximately 20%. The objective of this study was to determine the full publication rate of hematology/oncology abstracts presented at major pharmacy organization annual meetings. METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed and Google Scholar was performed. Publication status was evaluated for hematology/oncology abstracts presented at annual meetings for the following organizations: American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Meeting, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Annual Meeting, and International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners Annual Meeting. Data collected included the meeting of abstract presentation, number of authors, abstract study type, country of origin, journal of publication, and type of publication. Abstracts presented as trainee research were excluded. RESULTS: Of 451 oncology abstracts evaluated, the most common topic categories included pharmacotherapy (n = 244; 54.1%), clinical pharmacy practice (n = 84; 18.6%), and operational/compounding (n = 69; 15.3%). The overall publication rate was 17.5% (n = 79). Abstracts were published as full manuscripts over a spread of 48 different journals. Factors associated with full publication included abstracts with more than 5 authors (OR 3.86, 95% CI 2.32-6.43; p < 0.0001) and abstracts presented at oncology-focused pharmacy meetings (OR 2.92, 95% CI 1.49-5.72; p = 0.0018). CONCLUSION: This study showed an overall publication rate of 17.5% for abstracts presented at pharmacy meetings, consistent with prior studies.