Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self Assessment

Whether you're a student, new practitioner, or advanced clinical pharmacist, keeping your infectious disease (ID) pharmacotherapy skills sharp is vital. Not only is ID an important part of all qualifying exams from NAPLEX to BPS, but the treatment of ID also presents new challenges to seasoned pharmacists as new and re-emerging microbial agents are on the rise. 

Now there is a convenient and effective way to assess and advance your knowledge of these diseases in various patient groups and healthcare settings. Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self Assessment, by Lea S. Eiland and Diane B. Ginsburg, is the only resource of its kind for ID pharmacotherapy and provides case-based learning for three levels of experience.

Reinforce and expand your skills by analyzing 33 cases of varying diagnostic complexity covering 19 diseases from neonatal to geriatric patients. Based on real-life situations, they provide clinical data relating to all aspects of care, so you can assess current treatment and consider alternatives. The book's questions and answers offer an effective way to test your knowledge.

The Self Assessment is a valuable study aid for course work, exam prep, and professional development. Inside you'll find complex cases in the following areas:

• Bone and joint/skin and soft-tissue
• Central nervous system
• Pulmonary
• Bacteremia, endocarditis, and sepsis
• Intra-abdominal and genitourinary infections
• HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases
• Tick-borne infections
• Vaccines 

Current practice guidelines are referenced including the CDC's Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2015, and the DHHS's Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents (April 2015). The book's varying levels of difficulty allow for further self-assessment throughout your career.

Lea S. Eiland, PharmD, BCPS

Lea S. Eiland is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice with Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy and a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics with the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Huntsville Regional Medical Campus. She received her PharmD degree from The University of Texas and completed an ASHP-accredited pediatric specialty residency at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Eiland has been an active member of ASHP, serving as a member, Vice-Chair, and Chair of the Council on Education and Workforce Development; member of the Task Force on Pharmacy’s Changing Demographics; student member of the Task Force for Organizational Structure; Pediatric/OB-GYN/Neonatal Network Facilitator; and alternate state and student delegate. She has published in AJHP and serves as a manuscript and poster reviewer. Eiland is a Past President of AlSHP and faculty advisor for Auburn student chapter. She has also received the AlSHP Outstanding Pharmacy Practitioner Award.

Diane B. Ginsburg, PhD, RPh, FASHP

Diane B. Ginsburg is currently a Clinical Professor in the Division of Health Outcomes and Pharmacy Practice and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy. She is responsible for student leadership and professional development activities at the College of Pharmacy. Her career includes practice in multi-hospital systems, rural institutions, ambulatory care, and academic pharmacy. Dr. Ginsburg earned her BS from the University of Pittsburgh and MS in Hospital Pharmacy from the University of Houston. She completed a 2-year residency at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. She earned her PhD in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin College of Education.

Dr. Ginsburg has been active with ASHP and served as President and a 3-year term on the Board of Directors. She has served ASHP in several capacities including Chair, Council on Educational Affairs, AJHP Editorial Advisory Board, Texas Delegate, and Co-Coordinator of the National Clinical Skills Competition. She is co-editor of Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self Assessment and an author and editor of ASHP's Preceptor's Handbook for Pharmacists.  She also served as Chair of the ASHP Research and Education Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Ginsburg is a Past President of the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP) and TSHP Research & Education Foundation. She has received several honors and awards including the 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Pittsburgh.

Can J Hosp Pharm. 2016 May-Jun; 69(3):260; published online 2016 Jun 30

Reviewed by Cesilia Nishi, BScPharm, ACPR, PharmD

Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self Assessment is one of the latest volumes in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ Self Assessment series of books and e-books. In their preface, the authors state that the book is designed to provide patient-specific, case-based learning for clinicians at various stages of learning, from students to advanced practitioners.

The authors of this book are also editors of PharmPrep: ASHP’s NAPLEX® Review (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 2011 [4th edition]), a case-based textbook designed to prepare pharmacy students for writing the North American Pharmacy Licensure Examination, and there is some overlap in cases between these 2 resources. The cases included in Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self Assessment have been changed or updated from those in the infectious disease section of PharmPrep. All of these cases are based on real patients and were written by several contributing pharmacists.

The book is organized in 2 main parts. Part I consists of the patient cases, and part II presents answers to the 6 self-assessment questions that follow each case. There is also an appendix, which presents a glossary of abbreviations used throughout the cases. Part I comprises 33 cases divided into 9 sections for different types of infectious disease, such as bone and joint or skin and soft tissue infections and sexually transmitted diseases. The cases describe both adult and pediatric patients. Cases are designed at 3 levels of complexity: level 1 (beginner), level 2 (intermediate), and level 3 (advanced). The level 1 cases require only knowledge about the infectious disease involved in the particular case, whereas levels 2 and 3 require knowledge of broader infectious disease topics (such as antimicrobial resistance and stewardship). Part II provides detailed explanations of the answers to the self-assessment questions.

Unlike the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, this book does not provide any “prereading” for the topic of interest along with the case. Rather, readers are expected to attempt the self-assessment questions first, and then consult, as needed, the list of guidelines or relevant articles that is provided with the answers in part II. For those not familiar with a particular infectious disease topic, it would be helpful to have the list of recommended readings along with the case, so that they can familiarize themselves with the topic before attempting the self-assessment questions. Other criticisms of this book are similar to those for other US resources. The book requires familiarity with imperial units, as a conversion table to Système International (SI) units is not provided. Additionally, some of the answers to the questions do not reflect Canadian practices (e.g., the recommendation of daptomycin as an option for empiric treatment of gram-positive bacteremia, which reflects the higher prevalence of resistant gram-positive organisms, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA], in the United States). As with any medical reference, some of the information in this book has become outdated. For example, some of the answers for the infective endocarditis cases are no longer correct, as guidelines have been updated since publication of this book.

Overall, Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self Assessment is a well-organized book that can supplement learning about infectious diseases for both pharmacy trainees and more experienced clinicians. It can be used as a teaching aid to allow trainees to apply infectious disease concepts or as a workbook for clinicians to test their infectious disease knowledge.