SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 12: Finding and using research evidence about resource use and costs

This article is part of a series written for people responsible for making decisions about health policies and programmes and for those who support these decision makers

Standards for the care of people with cystic fibrosis; establishing and maintaining health

This is the second in a series of four papers updating the European Cystic Fibrosis Society (ECFS) standards for the care of people with CF. This paper focuses on establishing and maintaining health. The guidance is produced using an evidence-based framework and with wide stakeholder engagement, including people from the CF community. Authors provided a narrative description of their topic and statements, which were more directive. These statements were reviewed by a Delphi exercise, achieving good levels of agreement from a wide group for all statements. This guidance reinforces the importance of a multi-disciplinary CF team, but also describes developing models of care including virtual consultations. The framework for health is reinforced, including the need for a physically active lifestyle and the strict avoidance of all recreational inhalations, including e-cigarettes. Progress with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapy is reviewed, including emerging adverse events and advice for dose reduction and interruption. This paper contains guidance that is pertinent to all people with CF regardless of age and eligibility for and access to modulator therapy

Mechanisms of action of systemic antibiotics used in periodontal treatment and mechanisms of bacterial resistance to these drugs

Antibiotics are important adjuncts in the treatment of infectious diseases, including periodontitis. The most severe criticisms to the indiscriminate use of these drugs are their side effects and, especially, the development of bacterial resistance. The knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved with the antibiotic usage would help the medical and dental communities to overcome these two problems. Therefore, the aim of this manuscript was to review the mechanisms of action of the antibiotics most commonly used in the periodontal treatment (i.e. penicillin, tetracycline, macrolide and metronidazole) and the main mechanisms of bacterial resistance to these drugs. Antimicrobial resistance can be classified into three groups: intrinsic, mutational and acquired. Penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin are broad-spectrum drugs, effective against gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. Bacterial resistance to penicillin may occur due to diminished permeability of the bacterial cell to the antibiotic; alteration of the penicillin-binding proteins, or production of β-lactamases. However, a very small proportion of the subgingival microbiota is resistant to penicillins. Bacteria become resistant to tetracyclines or macrolides by limiting their access to the cell, by altering the ribosome in order to prevent effective binding of the drug, or by producing tetracycline/macrolide-inactivating enzymes. Periodontal pathogens may become resistant to these drugs. Finally, metronidazole can be considered a prodrug in the sense that it requires metabolic activation by strict anaerobe microorganisms. Acquired resistance to this drug has rarely been reported. Due to these low rates of resistance and to its high activity against the gram-negative anaerobic bacterial species, metronidazole is a promising drug for treating periodontal infections

Patient knowledge and pulmonary medication adherence in adult patients with cystic fibrosis

Ann Hsu-An Lin,1 Jennifer G Kendrick,2,3 Pearce G Wilcox,4,5 Bradley S Quon4,51Faculty of Medicine, 2Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, 3Department of Pharmacy, Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia, 4Department of Medicine, Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, 5Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, CanadaBackground and objectives: Patient knowledge of lung function (ie, forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1]% predicted) and the intended benefits of their prescribed pulmonary medications might play an important role in medication adherence, but this relationship has not been examined previously in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).Methods: All patients diagnosed with CF and without prior lung transplantation were invited to complete knowledge and self-reported medication adherence questionnaires during routine outpatient visits to the Adult CF Clinic, St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada from June 2013 to August 2014.Results: A total of 142 out of 167 (85%) consecutive adults attending CF clinic completed patient knowledge and medication adherence survey questionnaires. Sixty-four percent of the patients recalled their last FEV1% predicted value within 5%, and 70% knew the intended benefits of all their prescribed medications. Self-reported adherence rates were highest for inhaled antibiotics (81%), azithromycin (87%), and dornase alpha (76%) and lowest for hypertonic saline (47%). Individuals who knew their FEV1% predicted value within 5% were more likely to self-report adherence to dornase alpha (84% vs 62%, P=0.06) and inhaled antibiotics (88% vs 64%, P=0.06) compared to those who did not, but these associations were not statistically significant. There were no significant associations observed between patient knowledge of intended medication benefits and self-reported medication adherence.Conclusion: Contrary to our hypothesis, disease- and treatment-related knowledge was not associated with self-reported medication adherence. This suggests other barriers to medication adherence should be targeted in future studies aiming to improve medication adherence in adults with CF.Keywords: cystic fibrosis, health literacy, medication adherence, patient compliance, patient medication knowledg