Impact of pharmacist intervention on anticoagulation management and risk for potential COVID-19 exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Patients taking warfarin require frequent international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring in healthcare settings, putting them at increased risk of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposure during the pandemic. Thus, strategies to limit in-person visits to healthcare facilities were recommended by the Anticoagulation Forum. The objective of this study was to describe the number and types of changes made to anticoagulation therapy as a result of pharmacist intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients included in a primary care COVID-19 anticoagulation intervention was conducted. During this intervention, pharmacists provided individualized recommendations for anticoagulation changes in patients taking warfarin to limit their healthcare facility exposure while also maintaining safe anticoagulation management practices. RESULTS: As a result of pharmacist intervention, 83 (55.7 %) of the 149 patients included in the intervention had changes in anticoagulation including: switching to a direct oral anticoagulant (n = 12), extending the INR monitoring interval (n = 48), switching to home INR monitoring (n = 21), or stopping anticoagulation (n = 2). For those patients who were taking warfarin for the entire 6 months pre- and post-intervention, the total number of healthcare facility and laboratory visits with an INR completed decreased from 8.8 to 6.4 (p < 0.001) per patient without a statistically significant decrease in time in therapeutic range (p = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: This study depicts rapid implementation of a population health-based approach to assess all patients taking warfarin for options to minimize healthcare visits and decrease risk for COVID-19 exposure. Methods to reduce healthcare visit burden while maintaining patient safety should be considered as a regular component of anticoagulation management post-pandemic.

The impact of extended release exenatide as adjuvant therapy on hemoglobin A1C, weight, and total daily dose of insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using U-500 insulin.

AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adjuvant exenatide extended release (ER) therapy in patients treated with regular U-500 insulin. METHODS: In this retrospective chart review at an ambulatory care center in the Midwest, 18 patients with type 2 diabetes being treated with regular U-500 insulin and adjuvant exenatide ER were identified. These patients were evaluated for outcomes following the addition of exenatide ER. The primary outcome was change in HbA1C from baseline to 3, 6, and 12months. Secondary outcomes included change in weight, total daily dose (TDD) of insulin, and hypoglycemia. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed to assess the differences in mean scores over four time periods. RESULTS: A total of 18 of 50 patients met inclusion criteria with sufficient data to be included in analysis. HbA1C showed non-significant findings from baseline to 12months (8.08% vs. 8.23%; p=0.75). A non-significant, modest weight loss occurred (146.4kgvs. 144.2kg; -2.2kg; p=0.31). A significant decrease in TDD of insulin was observed (378 units vs. 326 units; p<0.001). There was a trend towards hypoglycemia from baseline to month 3 post addition of exenatide ER (0.33 events vs. 1.33 events; p=0.055). CONCLUSIONS: In patients treated with regular U-500 insulin, adjuvant exenatide ER therapy showed no significant improvement in HbA1C, but did show modest weight loss as well as decreased insulin requirements to achieve a HbA1C that was comparable to baseline.