It’s not too often that calcium gets to be the star electrolyte of the show, but in the case of secondary hyperparathyroidism, it is all about that bass…ermmm…calcium. If you’re wondering what the amount of sunshine in your life has to do with having enough calcium in your blood, then it’s time to brush up on parathyroid hormone. Come with tl;dr as we refresh your memory on an important homeostatic mechanism!
Read MoreIs it a duck or a rabbit? Is it a benefit-generating medication or a life-threatening drug? Porque no los dos! After reading oodles of journal articles about benefits of medications, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the fact that just about every drug in those studies has another side…a dark side. Dose matters, which is why it’s important for pharmacists to be at the table. And when things go wrong, it’s up to us to know how to support patients through toxic situations.
Read MoreStatus epilepticus!!! No, it’s not a spell from Harry Potter (although it would’ve made a darn good one). It’s actually a neurological emergency that requires some hefty pharmacotherapy for management. Which is where YOU come in. Let tl;dr give you the nuts and bolts of how to manage this condition and preserve functionality for our patients.
Read MoreIf you wanna come and take a ride with me, learn why meds are so pricey, Oh! Hey! Must be the money! (Come on, you know you sang it in your head, don’t lie. Work with me here.) At a time when it seems like the prices of medications are skyrocketing and every other news story is about how Congress is going to reform the system, we pharmacists need to have at least a basic understanding of the financial metrics that make up the issue. Enter tl;dr to provide this info for you!
Read MoreToday, we’re putting that oh-so-often forgotten organ under a magnifying glass. That’s right, the liver is finally getting some love again here on tl;dr! We’re combining one of our favorite topics - diabetes - with one that we really NEED to make a favorite - fatty liver disease. If you’re wondering why it’s so imperative that we love a topic that most of us don’t really know that much about, then this post is definitely for you.
Read MoreWhere’s the poop, Robin?!?!? Well, for all our fellow HIMYM fans, this week it’s all about the GI tract. Except we’re not actually talking about poop…we’re talking about blood. Coming from places it shouldn’t, in quantities that can be deadly. Let tl;dr give you the need to know info on how to manage this (unfortunately) relatively common occurrence!
Read MoreFever, runny nose, cough, congestion… If you sing it to yourself, it sounds a bit like that old Pepto-Bismol commercial (“Nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrheaaa!”). Or maybe that’s just us being pharmacy nerds. Regardless, these are surely not a fun constellation of symptoms, especially when they worsen and lead to hospitalization of our youngest and oldest patients. Come take a deep dive into newly approved measures to shield patients from one of their most common causes: RSV.
Read MorePressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you… Maybe Freddie and David were actually singing about what happens when that pressure pushes on the brain due to a bleed. Maybe. Ok, probably not, but it’s a ridiculously important question! In order to learn how to manage this critical situation, you need to come get some need-to-know info. Let tl;dr guide you through both the non-pharm and pharm management of brain bleeds.
Read MoreYou open the C-II cabinet at work, and your eyes cross. There are FIVE MILLION medication options stocked for ADHD. How on earth are you supposed to keep them all straight? Why are there so many?? WHO LET IT GET THIS OUT OF CONTROL??? Don’t worry, tl;dr is here to give you the rundown on the world of ADHD pharmacotherapy so you can wade through the mire of meds.
Read MoreIf you have children, you probably remember the feeling of seeing your poor little new bundle look like a pin cushion for their 2 month vaccines. (Hard but worth it in the long run…!) But have you ever wondered how prematurity affects vaccine administration? Are the vaccines still given per usual or should the schedule be adjusted, and is it a blanket recommendation for all vaccines? Let tl;dr give you crucial information on infection prevention for our littlest of littles!
Read MoreHow many of you have heard a patient state that they need “the blue tablet” because nothing else works? Have you ever wondered whether there’s some underlying truth to their request? Before you get too exasperated trying to figure out which NDC they’re talking about, consider the possibility of a nugget of truth there. Although all humans are astoundingly genetically similar, we’re also clearly not clones. So it stands to reason that our genetic differences could also cause variability in our reactions to medications. Welcome to pharmacogenomics! Let tl;dr introduce you to this field and the opportunities that await.
Read MoreHave you ever stopped to marvel at how some of our littlest patients have the biggest hearts? Having just entered the world and without a clue about what’s going on, they so often fight, Fight, FIGHT for life! Total miracles. Even so, sometimes those big little hearts just don’t quite mature the way they need to, so we have to give them a little extra help. Let tl;dr give you the scoop on how a couple of common adult medications can be put to unusual uses for the neonatal heart.
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