The Pharmacist's Missing Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Unsettling the fluidity of practice and dealing with threat: the experiences of paediatric pharmacists in response to the admission of adult COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care in a paediatric tertiary hospital

OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of pharmacists, resulting in new ways of working. Little literature focuses on the experiences and well-being of hospital pharmacists, particularly on paediatric pharmacists. The setting - a paediatric stand-alone tertiary hospital - opened to adult ICU COVID-19 patients for two time periods. Paediatric pharmacists had to shift their roles; this impacted their well-being. Paediatric ICU clinical psychologists provided support using a compassion-focused therapy (CFT) model to guide thinking, reflection and promoting behaviour change. This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of the paediatric pharmacists working in a paediatric stand-alone tertiary hospital before, during and after the admission of adult COVID-19 patients into ICU and their experiences of support offered by clinical psychologists.

METHODS

A qualitative interpretative design using remote photo-elicitation interviews was adopted. Data analysis was undertaken using the six stages of reflexive thematic analysis.

KEY FINDINGS

Five paediatric pharmacists participated; four deployed to work in the A-ICU (from PICU) and one deployed to work in the PICU (from ward-based work). An overarching theme, 'Unsettling the fluidity of practice and dealing with threat', is supported by four key themes 'Context and preparation', 'Dread and challenges', 'Keeping it together' and 'Lessons learned'. The fluidity of the pharmacists' practice was unsettled as they dealt with the threats and sought resources (drive) to enable optimal care delivery. Soothe techniques helped compensate for threats, and promote resilience and well-being.

CONCLUSION

The CFT model has been useful in the longer term with the adoption of a more open, compassionate approach to their work and colleagues.

The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP) Impact on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution During Pandemic: Effectiveness, Limitations, and Implications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has altered the healthcare landscape for pharmacy practice and continues its global onslaught. As the COVID-19 vaccines began to reach the general population, many were left wondering where and when they would get the vaccine. With 90% of the American population living within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, vaccine distribution to these locations is vital for a successful vaccine campaign. The Biden Administration launched the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP) in February 2021, a public-private partnership with 21 national pharmacy partners representing over 40,000 pharmacy locations to help expand the vaccine rollout. Community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to fulfill this mission by being a point of contact for the COVID-19 vaccination efforts. The FRPP has experienced some limitations, including the variable vaccine allocation, limited support from the healthcare system, and the lack of overwhelming public confidence in the vaccines. Improving the FRPP would require strong partnership with other healthcare professionals and the adoption of flexible vaccine dissemination. These can stem future pandemics.

Mushrooms as future generation healthy foods

The potential of edible mushrooms as an unexploited treasure trove, although rarely included in known food guidelines, is highlighted. Their role in shielding people against the side effects of an unhealthy stylish diet is reviewed. Mushrooms complement the human diet with various bioactive molecules not identified or deficient in foodstuffs of plant and animal sources, being considered a functional food for the prevention of several human diseases. Mushrooms have been widely used as medicinal products for more than 2,000 years, but globally the potential field of use of wild mushrooms has been untapped. There is a broad range of edible mushrooms which remain poorly identified or even unreported which is a valuable pool as sources of bioactive compounds for biopharma utilization and new dietary supplements. Some unique elements of mushrooms and their role in preventative healthcare are emphasized, through their positive impact on the immune system. The potential of mushrooms as antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic, and other health concerns is discussed. Mushrooms incorporate top sources of non-digestible oligosaccharides, and ergothioneine, which humans are unable to synthesize, the later a unique antioxidant, cytoprotective, and anti-inflammatory element, with therapeutic potential, approved by world food agencies. The prebiotic activity of mushrooms beneficially affects gut homeostasis performance and the balance of gut microbiota is enhanced. Several recent studies on neurological impact and contribution to the growth of nerve and brain cells are mentioned. Indeed, mushrooms as functional foods' nutraceuticals are presently regarded as next-generation foods, supporting health and wellness, and are promising prophylactic or therapeutic agents.

Antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumor, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and nevro-protective activity of Ganoderma lucidum: An overview

Ganoderma lucidum is a very medicinal mushroom that has been utilized in Oriental medicine for many years. It has a wide range of pharmacological and therapeutic properties, and has been used for many years as a health promoter. It contains various biologically active compounds that improve the immune system and have antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties. Active compounds include triterpenoids and polysaccharides, as well as proteins, lipids, phenolics, sterols, etc. In the following review, we summarize briefly their biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antitumor, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory activity. Although Ganoderma has a number of medicinal effects that have been confirmed by the in vitro and in vivo studies summarised in this review, there are some limitations. Clinical trials face mainly a lack of pure constituents. Accurate identification of the compounds obtained is also problematic. In addition, most of the included studies were small, and there were concerns about the methodological quality of each study. Studies have shown that Ganoderma has valuable potential for the prevention and treatment of cancer. In any case, G. lucidum cannot be used as first-line therapy for cancer.