Learning Objectives
After completing this continuing education activity, pharmacists will be able to
| • EXPLAIN the common mechanisms of bacterial resistance and their impact on antibiotic efficacy |
| • RECOGNIZE the importance of early and effective management of resistant bacterial infections. |
| • IDENTIFY first- and second-line treatment options for VRE. |
After completing this continuing education activity, pharmacy technicians will be able to
| • DESCRIBE proper storage, reconstitution, and other considerations for antibiotics used for resistant infections |
| • IDENTIFY strategies to prevent dispensing errors when handling antibiotics and increase awareness of high-risk medications |
| • RECOGNIZE common dosing of antibiotics used for resistant bacterial infections |
Release Date:
Release Date: June 5, 2025
Expiration Date: June 5, 2028
Course Fee
Pharmacists:
Free until 7/31/2025
then $7
Pharmacy Technicians:
Free until 7/31/2025
then $4
There is no grant funding for this CE activity
ACPE UANs
Pharmacist: 0009-9999-25-07-H01-P
Pharmacy Technician: 0009-9999-25-007-H01-T
Session Codes
Pharmacist: 25UC07-CBA96
Pharmacy Technician: 25UC07-BAC49
Accreditation Hours
0.5 hours of CE
Accreditation Statements
| The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Statements of credit for the online activity ACPE UAN 0009-9999-25-007-H01-P/T will be awarded when the post test and evaluation have been completed and passed with a 70% or better. Your CE credits will be uploaded to your CPE monitor profile within 2 weeks of completion of the program. |  |
Disclosure of Discussions of Off-label and Investigational Drug Use
The material presented here does not necessarily reflect the views of The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy or its co-sponsor affiliates. These materials may discuss uses and dosages for therapeutic products, processes, procedures and inferred diagnoses that have not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. A qualified health care professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product discussed. All readers and continuing education participants should verify all information and data before treating patients or employing any therapies described in this continuing education activity.
Faculty
Dominic Biello, PharmD,
PGY-1 Resident
UConn Health Center
Farmington, CT
Gillian Kuszewski, PharmD, BCPS, FCPA,
Antimicrobial Stewardshhip Co-Chair
UConn Health Center
Farmington, CT
Jenny Zhao, PharmD,
PGY-1 Resident
UConn Health Center
Farmington, CT
Faculty Disclosure
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Criteria for Quality and Interpretive Guidelines, The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy requires that faculty disclose any relationship that the faculty may have with commercial entities whose products or services may be mentioned in the activity.
Drs. Biello, Kuszewski and Chan and have no relationships with ineligible companies and therefore have nothing to disclose.
CONTENT
Content
Download PDF of Handouts
Pharmacist Post Test (for viewing only)
Pharmacist Learning Objectives:
1. Explain the common mechanisms of bacterial resistance and their impact on antibiotic efficacy
2. Recognize the importance of early and effective management of resistant bacterial infections
3. Identify first- and second-line treatment options for vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE)
Pharmacist Questions:
1. How do enterococci develop resistance to vancomycin?
a. The terminus of the peptidoglycan cell wall changes
b. Production of enzymes inactivate vancomycin
c. Decreased outer membrane permeability
2. What prevention strategy involves early and effective therapy intervention?
a. Chlorhexidine bathing
b. Environmental cleaning
c. Antimicrobial Stewardship
3. Common enterococcal infection sites include the urinary tract, bloodstream, heart, and intra-abdominal space. What is the recommended first line agent for infective endocarditis?
a. High dose ampicillin
b. Linezolid
c. Tigecycline
4. Which prevention strategy can reduce the risk of VRE by addressing the risk factor of transmission through healthcare workers?
a. In vitro susceptibility testing
b. Hand hygiene
c. Active surveillance
5. The most common phenotype seen in VRE isolates is Van A. What mechanism of resistance is the VanA phenotype responsible for?
a. Increasing the efflux of antibiotics
b. Ribosomal protection
c. Changes in peptidoglycan cell wall
6. A provider calls the pharmacy asking for antibiotic recommendations for a bloodstream infection (bacteremia) growing gram positive cocci. The patient has a history of enterococcal bacteremia previously treated with antibiotics. What antibiotic should be recommended to the provider?
a. Ampicillin 2g every 4 hours
b. Daptomycin 8-12 mg/kg once daily
c. Nitrofurantoin 100mg twice daily
Pharmacy Technician Post Test (for viewing only)
Resilience vs Resistance:
Winning the Battle Against Vancomycin-Resistant Infections
Pharmacy Technician Learning Objectives:
1. Describe proper storage, reconstitution, and other considerations for antibiotics used for resistant infections
2. Identify strategies to prevent dispensing errors when handling antibiotics and increase awareness of high-risk medications
3. Recognize common dosing of antibiotics used for resistant bacterial infections
Pharmacy Technician Questions:
1. A patient is receiving daptomycin 400 mg IV every 24 hours. As a technician, you want to compound today’s dose as well as tomorrow’s dose. Is this appropriate?
a. Yes, reconstituted solutions of daptomycin are stable at room temperature for up to 48 hours
b. No, reconstituted solutions of daptomycin are stable at room temperature for up to 12 hours
c. No, reconstituted solutions of daptomycin are stable at room temperature for up to 5 hours
2. What is a potential strategy to prevent medication dispensing errors?
a. Build a culture that encourages error reporting
b. Reducing the number of medications dispensed daily
c. Require pharmacist double checks on every medication dispensed
3. You see a label print for oritavancin. What would be an appropriate dosing you would expect to see?
a. 1200 mg IV once
b. 1200 mg IV every 12 hours
c. 1200 mg IV every 24 hours
4. Linezolid is reconstituted in the morning for patient administration. The nurse is unable to administer the medication because the patient is in the OR. How, and for how long can linezolid be stored after reconstitution?
a. Store at room temperature 20ºC to 25ºC (68ºF to 77ºF) for up to 24 hours
b. Store at room temperature 20ºC to 25ºC (68ºF to 77ºF) for up to 12 hours
c. Store at room temperature 20ºC to 25ºC (68ºF to 77ºF) for up to 21 days
5. Which of the following describes the medication dispensing error prevention strategy, encouraging error reporting?
a. Calling a patient’s pharmacy to confirm dispense history
b. Scanning the vial or patient label before administration
c. Filling out safety incident paperwork
6. What is a reasonable renally adjusted dose for tedizolid?
a. Tedizolid does not need to be renally adjusted
b. 200 mg IV or PO every 48 hours
c. 100 mg IV or PO every 24 hours