EurOP2E – the European Open Platform for Prescribing Education, a consensus study among clinical pharmacology and therapeutics teachers

Purpose Sharing and developing digital educational resources and open educational resources has been proposed as a way to harmonize and improve clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education in European medical schools. Previous research, however, has shown that there are barriers to the adoption and implementation of open educational resources. The aim of this study was to determine perceived opportunities and barriers to the use and creation of open educational resources among European CPT teachers and possible solutions for these barriers. Methods CPT teachers of British and EU medical schools completed an online survey. Opportunities and challenges were identified by thematic analyses and subsequently discussed in an international consensus meeting. Results Data from 99 CPT teachers from 95 medical schools were analysed. Thirty teachers (30.3%) shared or collaboratively produced digital educational resources. All teachers foresaw opportunities in the more active use of open educational resources, including improving the quality of their teaching. The challenges reported were language barriers, local differences, lack of time, technological issues, difficulties with quality management, and copyright restrictions. Practical solutions for these challenges were discussed and include a peer review system, clear indexing, and use of copyright licenses that permit adaptation of resources. Conclusion Key challenges to making greater use of CPT open educational resources are a limited applicability of such resources due to language and local differences and quality concerns. These challenges may be resolved by relatively simple measures, such as allowing adaptation and translation of resources and a peer review system

Key Learning Outcomes for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Education in Europe: A Modified Delphi Study.

Harmonizing clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education in Europe is necessary to ensure that the prescribing competency of future doctors is of a uniform high standard. As there are currently no uniform requirements, our aim was to achieve consensus on key learning outcomes for undergraduate CPT education in Europe. We used a modified Delphi method consisting of three questionnaire rounds and a panel meeting. A total of 129 experts from 27 European countries were asked to rate 307 learning outcomes. In all, 92 experts (71%) completed all three questionnaire rounds, and 33 experts (26%) attended the meeting. 232 learning outcomes from the original list, 15 newly suggested and 5 rephrased outcomes were included. These 252 learning outcomes should be included in undergraduate CPT curricula to ensure that European graduates are able to prescribe safely and effectively. We provide a blueprint of a European core curriculum describing when and how the learning outcomes might be acquired

EFFECTS OF ERYNGIUM PLANUM AND ERYNGIUM CAMPESTRE EXTRACTS ON LIGATURE-INDUCED RAT PERIODONTITIS

Eryngium planum and Eryngium campestre were used as remedies in several inflammatory disorders while local treatment was used for dental conditions like periodontitis, dental caries and toothache. The aim of the study was to study the antiinflammatory effect of topical Eryngium planum and Eryngium campestre treatment in a rat model of periodontitis. The 20% tincture were prepared by maceration with ethanol. The sterols content was assessed by a HPLC-MS method. The in vivo anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated on a rat ligature-induced periodontitis by the histopathological examination of periodontal biopsy and serum total nitrites and nitrates, total oxidative status, total antioxidant response and oxidative stress index. The tested hydroalcoholic extracts contained β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and cholesterol. The results provide evidence for the hypothesis that topical treatment with Eryngium planum and E. campestre extract in experimental rat periodontitis exerted anti-inflammatory activity by reducing the leucocytes infiltration and the nitro-oxidative stress

Legionella pneumophila occurrence in reduced-occupancy buildings in 11 cities during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT: In spring 2020, numerous buildings were closed or operated at reduced occupancies to slow the spread of COVID-19. An unintended consequence of these social distancing measures was a reduction in water demand in many buildings. Concerns arose that contaminants associated with water stagnation, such as Legionella pneumophila, could become prevalent. To investigate the potential public health risk associated with L. pneumophila, samples from 26 reduced-occupancy buildings in 11 cities in the United States, Canada, and Switzerland were analyzed for L. pneumophila using liquid culture (Legiolert, n = 258) and DNA-based methods (qPCR/ddPCR, n = 138). L. pneumophila culture-positivity was largely associated with five buildings, each of which had specific design or operational deficiencies commonly associated with L. pneumophila occurrence. Samples from buildings with free chlorine residual disinfection had higher culture-positivity (37%) than samples from buildings with chloramine (1%). Additionally, 78% of culture-positive samples occurred when the disinfectant residual was ≤0.1 mg L−1 Cl2 and only three free chlorine samples were culture-positive when the disinfectant residual was >0.2 mg L−1 as Cl2. Although overall sample positivity using culture- and DNA-based methods was equivalent (34% vs. 35%), there was disagreement between the methods in 13% of samples (n = 18 of 138). Few buildings reported any water management activities, and L. pneumophila concentrations in flushed samples were occasionally greater than in first-draw samples. This study provides insight into how building plumbing characteristics and water management practices contribute to L. pneumophila occurrence during low water use periods and can inform targeted prevention and mitigation efforts

Harmonizing and improving European education in prescribing: An overview of digital educational resources used in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

AIM: Improvement and harmonization of European clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education is urgently required. Because digital educational resources can be easily shared, adapted to local situations and re-used widely across a variety of educational systems, they may be ideally suited for this purpose. METHODS: With a cross-sectional survey among principal CPT teachers in 279 out of 304 European medical schools, an overview and classification of digital resources was compiled. RESULTS: Teachers from 95 (34%) medical schools in 26 of 28 EU countries responded, 66 (70%) of whom used digital educational resources in their CPT curriculum. A total of 89 of such resources were described in detail, including e-learning (24%), simulators to teach pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics (10%), virtual patients (8%), and serious games (5%). Together, these resources covered 235 knowledge-based learning objectives, 88 skills, and 13 attitudes. Only one third (27) of the resources were in-part or totally free and only two were licensed open educational resources (free to use, distribute and adapt). A narrative overview of the largest, free and most novel resources is given. CONCLUSION: Digital educational resources, ranging from e-learning to virtual patients and games, are widely used for CPT education in EU medical schools. Learning objectives are based largely on knowledge rather than skills or attitudes. This may be improved by including more real-life clinical case scenarios. Moreover, the majority of resources are neither free nor open. Therefore, with a view to harmonizing international CPT education, more needs to be learned about why CPT teachers are not currently sharing their educational materials