Antibiotics as antibacterial drugs have saved many lives, but have also become a victim of their own success. Their widespread abuse reduces their anti-infective effectiveness and causes the development of bacterial resistance. Moreover, irrational antibiotic therapy contributes to gastrointestinal dysbiosis, that increases the risk of the development of many diseases, including neurological and psychiatric. One of the potential options for restoring homeostasis is the use of oral antibiotics that are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., rifaximin alfa). Thus, antibiotic therapy may exert neurological or psychiatric adverse drug reactions which are often considered to be overlooked and undervalued issues. Drug-induced neurotoxicity is mostly observed after beta-lactams and quinolones. Penicillin may produce a wide range of neurological dysfunctions, including encephalopathy, behavioral changes, myoclonus or seizures. Their pathomechanism results from the disturbances of gamma-aminobutyric acid-GABA transmission (due to the molecular similarities between the structure of the β-lactam ring and GABA molecule) and impairment of the functioning of benzodiazepine receptors (BZD). However, on the other hand, antibiotics have also been studied for their neuroprotective properties in the treatment of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory processes (e.g., Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases). Antibiotics may, therefore, become promising elements of multi-targeted therapy for these entities.

Background: The safety of pharmacotherapy for geriatric patients is an essential aspect of the demographic perspective in view of the increasing size of this population. Non-opioid analgesics (NOAs) are among the most popular and often overused over-the-counter medications (OTC). The reasons for drug abuse are common in the geriatric population: musculoskeletal disorders, colds, inflammation and pain of various origins. The popularity of self-medication and the ability to easily access OTC drugs outside the pharmacy creates the danger of their misuse and the incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The survey included 142 respondents aged 50–90 years. The relationship between the prevalence of ADRs and the NOAs used, age, presence of chronic diseases, and place of purchasing and obtaining information about the mentioned drugs were evaluated. The results of the observations were statistically analyzed using Statistica 13.3. The most commonly used NOAs among the elderly included paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and ibuprofen. Patients consumed the medications for intractable headaches, toothaches, fevers, colds and joint disorders. Respondents indicated the pharmacy as the main location for purchasing medications, and the physician as the source of information for selecting the therapy. ADRs were reported most frequently to the physician, and less frequently to the pharmacist and nurse. More than one-third of respondents indicated that the physician during the consultation did not take a medical history and did not ask about concomitant diseases. It is necessary to extend pharmaceutical care to geriatric patients that includes advice on adverse drug reactions, especially drug interactions. Due to the popularity of self-medication, and the availability of NOAs, long-term measures should be taken to increase the role of pharmacists in providing effective, safe health care to seniors. We are targeting pharmacists with this survey to draw attention to the problem of the prevalence of selling NOAs to geriatric patients. Pharmacists should educate seniors about the possibility of ADRs and approach patients with polypragmasy and polypharmacy with caution. Pharmaceutical care is an essential aspect in the treatment of geriatric patients, which can contribute to better results in their existing treatment and increase the safety of medication intake. Therefore, it is important to improve the development of pharmaceutical care in Poland in order to enhance patient outcomes.

Depression is a global mental health concern, and personalized treatment approaches are needed to optimize its management. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the CYP2D6 and CYP1A2 gene polymorphisms on the efficacy of duloxetine in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms. A sample of 100 outpatients with major depression, who initiated monotherapy with duloxetine, were followed up. Polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 and CYP1A2 genes were assessed. The severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms was recorded using standardized scales. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were analyzed. Statistical analyses, including linear regression, were conducted to examine the relationships between genetic polymorphisms, clinical variables, and treatment outcomes. Patients with higher values of the duloxetine metabolic index (DMI) for CYP2D6, indicating a faster metabolism, achieved a greater reduction in anxiety symptoms. The occurrence of ADRs was associated with a lower reduction in anxiety symptoms. However, no significant associations were found between studied gene polymorphisms and reduction in depressive symptoms. No significant effects of the DMI for CYP1A2 were found. Patients with a slower metabolism may experience less benefit from duloxetine therapy in terms of anxiety symptom reduction. Personalizing treatment based on the CYP2D6 and CYP1A2 gene polymorphisms can enhance the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy and improve patient outcomes.

Purpose: Kidney transplant patients require long-term pharmacotherapy with a significant risk of drug-related complications. The disease acceptance may significantly affect the effectiveness, safety, and patient adherence to their treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, for kidney transplantation patients, the essential determinants for better disease acceptance, and whether a clinical pharmacist may influence its degree. Methods: The study involved 201 renal graft patients aged 18-81 years. The diagnostic survey method with the questionnaire of the Acceptance Illness Scale (AIS) and authors' query was used to obtain sociodemographic and co-morbidities data, the number of medications taken, the therapy cost, a patient needs for more attention from medical staff, and their willingness to cooperate with a clinical pharmacist. Results: The largest group (55.2%) of patients demonstrated a high level of acceptance of their health. However, in every disease acceptance score range (low, medium, high), the score was statistically lower in patients over 50 years of age (c²=7.27, p=0.026), occupationally inactive (c² =13.8, p<0.001), over 5 medicines taken (c²=7.77, p=0.020), and declaring too much expenditure on the therapy (c²=14.3, p<0.001). The assessment established a statistically significant negative correlation between the number of chronic conditions and the AIS score (R=-0.32, p<0.001). The lower number of coexisting chronic diseases the better disease acceptance. Moreover, patients reporting the need for more attention from the health service and willing to consult a pharmacist cope in a statistically significant way worse with accepting their health (c²=15.1 and p<0.001, c²=6.76 and p=0.034 respectively). Conclusion: For post-transplantation patients, factors affecting the acceptance of illness should be taken into consideration while planning medical care. The reported need for professional assistance indicates necessity for establishing a multidisciplinary therapeutic team in which a clinical pharmacist should play a special role.

BRAF inhibitors and MEK inhibitors (MEKi) have reshaped the treatment of BRAF ^V600 ‐mutant malignancies; however, cutaneous adverse drug reactions (ADRs) remain a frequent and clinically impactful toxicity. Although clinical trials provide insight into their safety profiles, real‐world data on dermatologic ADRs are limited. We conducted a retrospective pharmacovigilance analysis of the WHO VigiAccess database, examining individual case safety reports (ICSRs) for seven BRAF and MEKi up to May 2025. Disproportionality analyses (reporting odds ratio (ROR), proportional reporting ratio (PRR), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)) were performed for high‐frequency dermatologic ADRs. Shannon entropy was used to assess the diversity of toxicity profiles across agents. Among 72,720 ICSRs, skin‐related ADRs accounted for 39.78% of reports with vemurafenib, 16.49% with dabrafenib, and 14.62% with encorafenib. Among MEKi, the proportion of skin‐related ADRs was highest for selumetinib (40.03%) and cobimetinib (34.31%). Rash was the predominant ADR across agents, but selumetinib demonstrated a significant disproportionality for dermatitis acneiform (ROR = 6.46, 95% CI [5.10, 8.18]). Photosensitivity reactions were most frequently reported with vemurafenib (11.31%) and cobimetinib (12.02%). Shannon entropy analysis identified two groups with differing ADR profile diversity: a higher‐diversity group (cobimetinib, H = 3.66; dabrafenib, H = 3.60) and a lower‐diversity group (trametinib, H = 3.51; binimetinib, H = 3.47); all cross‐group comparisons were statistically significant after Holm‐Bonferroni correction ( p < 0.05). Chi‐squared tests confirmed significant differences in skin ADR frequencies among agents (BRAF inhibitors: χ ² (2) = 1393.21, p < 0.001, Cramér's V = 0.255; MEKi: χ ² (3) = 1129.77, p < 0.001, Cramér's V = 0.175), with effect sizes indicating clinical relevance. Cutaneous ADRs are a defining toxicity of MAPK pathway inhibitors, with substantial interagent variability in frequency and phenotype. Real‐world pharmacovigilance data underscore the necessity for agent‐specific dermatologic monitoring strategies. Clinical pharmacists play a pivotal role in early ADR detection and management, enhancing adherence and optimizing therapeutic outcomes.