Side Effects: Nobody Trained for This - Summary - MDSpire
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Side Effects: Nobody Trained for This
Chemsex at the pharmacy counter. Gut bacteria tracking helmet impacts. PMD predicting psychiatric illness bidirectionally. This week's research keeps landing in the same uncomfortable place: medicine is improvising.
To assess the knowledge and preparedness of community pharmacists regarding chemsex (the use of drugs during sexual activity) and its associated drug interactions.
Key Findings:
86% of surveyed pharmacists had never received a chemsex-related question, indicating a lack of exposure to this issue.
Only 67% could define chemsex, and 68% incorrectly identified core substances, suggesting a conflation of 'drugs during sex' with the specific harm profile chemsex describes.
69% felt unable to manage drug interactions related to chemsex, highlighting a significant knowledge gap.
Only 18% recognized intravenous injection ('slamming') as part of chemsex, which is notable given that pharmacies dispense sterile injection kits.
Professionals with prior chemsex inquiries reported lower perceived resource adequacy, suggesting that direct exposure may enhance awareness of support deficiencies.
Interpretation:
The findings indicate a significant knowledge gap among pharmacists regarding chemsex, suggesting that direct exposure may enhance awareness of existing support deficiencies and the need for targeted training.
Limitations:
The study's findings are based on a single regional survey and may not be generalizable to all pharmacy settings due to regional differences.
Potential reverse causality in perceived resource adequacy and prior inquiries may affect the interpretation of results.
Conclusion:
The study raises questions about the potential benefits of chemsex-specific training for pharmacists to better utilize existing harm reduction resources and improve their ability to manage drug interactions.
Phase 3 results showed longer progression-free survival with pembrolizumab plus sacituzumab govitecan-hziy than with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in previously untreated PD-L1-positive advanced triple-negative breast cancer.
A JAMA Internal Medicine Viewpoint urges clinicians and health systems to verify risk-model inputs before acting on automated breast cancer screening recommendations.
