Deferasirox, a tridentate oral chelator approved for the treatment of chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions, offers a promising alternative for patients unwilling or unable to comply with deferoxamine therapy.

Objective. To compare the effectiveness of team-based learning (TBL) to that of traditional lectures on learning outcomes in a therapeutics course sequence. Design. A revised TBL curriculum was implemented in a therapeutic course sequence. Multiple choice and essay questions identical to those used to test third-year students (P3) taught using a traditional lecture format were administered to the second-year pharmacy students (P2) taught using the new TBL format. Assessment. One hundred thirty-one multiple-choice questions were evaluated; 79 tested recall of knowledge and 52 tested higher level, application of knowledge. For the recall questions, students taught through traditional lectures scored significantly higher compared to the TBL students (88% ±12% vs 82%±16%, p=0.01). For the questions assessing application of knowledge, no differences were seen between teaching pedagogies (81%±16% vs 77%±20%, p=0.24). Scores on essay questions and the number of students who achieved 100% were also similar between groups. Conclusion. Transition to a TBL format from a traditional lecture-based pedagogy allowed P2 students to perform at a similar level as students with an additional year of pharmacy education on application of knowledge type questions. However, P3 students outperformed P2 students regarding recall type questions and overall. Further assessment of long-term learning outcomes is needed to determine if TBL produces more persistent learning and improved application in clinical settings.

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These results will facilitate the retrieval of useful information on herbal and dietary supplements and enable healthcare professionals to determine appropriate allocation of resources as they build a drug information library for handling requests about these products.

Small, short-term studies suggest that glucosamine may be used in selected patients without affecting glucose control; however, data in patients with diabetes mellitus are limited, and close monitoring for potential changes in glucose control is recommended.