Curious minds to aspiring pharmacists: Impact of high school outreach on pharmacy knowledge and interest.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of a pharmacy student delivered presentation on prospective rural high school students' interest toward the pharmacy profession and knowledge regarding a career in pharmacy. METHODS: Presentations about applying to pharmacy school, the Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and pharmacist careers were given at ten high schools across North Dakota and Minnesota by third year pharmacy students attending North Dakota State University. Each pharmacy student presenter received training to ensure that all high school students received clear and consistent information. A pre-post survey was used to understand the impact of the presentation on high school student interest and knowledge regarding a career in pharmacy. Data was analyzed using a chi-square test and McNemar's test. RESULTS: Five hundred and eight students consented to the study and completed the pre-post surveys. Of these students, the largest group was high school juniors (number (n) = 239, 47%), followed by sophomores (n = 161, 32%), seniors (n = 104, 20%) and freshmen (n = 3, 1%). The majority of students attended school in North Dakota (n = 469, 92%). Similarly, most students planned to attend a four-year college (n = 451, 89%) and were interested in a medical/healthcare related career (n = 310, 61%). All interest and knowledge questions showed a statistically significant increase in score pre-post. CONCLUSION: Presentations delivered by pharmacy students to prospective rural high school students improved overall interest and knowledge regarding pharmacy school and the profession. Presentations are a useful tool for pharmacy programs to help promote their school and the profession of pharmacy.

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura following Administration of mRNA-Based SARS-CoV-2 and MMR Vaccinations: A Cautionary Tale.

We report a case of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in an otherwise healthy 31-year-old man following coadministration of the live measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The patient was hospitalized briefly and treated for ITP with glucocorticoids, IVIG, and platelet transfusion. Although our patient's clinical presentation and subsequent course are similar to those of other cases of ITP in association with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of ITP following MMR and mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine coadministration. It would be impossible to conclusively prove that the patient's thrombocytopenia was secondary to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine alone, the MMR vaccine, or an additive effect of both vaccines. However, with the CDC guidelines recommending the coadministration of the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine without regards to timing with other vaccines, we urge further caution as there is limited evidence to inform practice. This case highlights the need for further safety data regarding the coadministration and timing of the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine with other vaccines.

Síndrome de Noonan / Noonan syndrome

Se presenta un caso de Síndrome de Noonan, enfermedad genética poco frecuente con manifestaciones clínicas diversas, con una característica afectación cardiovascular como es la estenosis valvular pulmonar. La paciente ingresa en insuficiencia cardiaca y durante la observación se detectan datos clínicos típicamente descritos en la enfermedad, tales como talla baja, hipertelorismo, pterigium coli y tórax carinatum. Se evalúa de manera conjunta con genética y se identifican los criterios diagnósticos. La paciente es compensada y egresada por mejoría

A case of Noonan´s Syndrome, is reported here. This is a rare genetic disease with diverse clinical manifestations, with a characteristic cardiovascular involvement of pulmonary valve stenosis. The patient was admitted with heart failure. Typical clinical features were found such as short stature, hypertelorism, pterygium coli and thorax carinatum. The patient was evaluated with the genetic specialists and diagnostic criteria were identified