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Biologic therapies committee. What does it provide?

Virginia Martínez-Santana1, Sonia Fernández-Cañabate2, Eva Fernández-Cañabate3

  • 1Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Institut Guttmann, Badalona (Barcelona). Spain. vmartins@fhes.cat.

Farmacia Hospitalaria : Organo Oficial De Expresion Cientifica De La Sociedad Espanola De Farmacia Hospitalaria
|January 14, 2021
PubMed

Insights

A specialized committee for biological therapies improved patient care by optimizing prescription habits and enhancing infection prevention strategies. This led to better screening and prophylactic treatments for patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) require complex treatment regimens.
  • Biological therapies offer targeted treatment but necessitate careful monitoring.
  • Establishing specialized committees can optimize the use of biological agents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the healthcare impact of a Biological Therapies Committee.
  • To assess changes in prescription patterns and pre-treatment evaluations post-committee implementation.
  • To analyze the effect on immunization and infection screening protocols.

Main Methods:

  • A quasi-experimental study design.
  • Inclusion of adult, naive patients initiating biological therapy for IMIDs.
  • Comparison of prescription habits, pre-biological studies, and immunization data before and after committee formation.

Main Results:

  • Significant decrease in tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor prescriptions (80.6% to 45.0%).
  • Significant increase in interleukin 12/23 inhibitor prescriptions (12.9% to 35.0%).
  • Marked improvement in tuberculosis screening (interferon gamma release assays from 9.7% to 80.0%) and chemoprophylaxis (36.4% to 81.8%).
  • Increased viral pathology testing and vaccination rates observed.

Conclusions:

  • A dedicated Biological Therapies Committee enhances healthcare delivery for IMID patients.
  • Committees improve understanding of biological agents and mitigate infection-related risks.
  • Specialized committees are recommended for other therapeutic domains to improve patient outcomes.
Abstract

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