Release Date: March 2013
Expiration Date: March 2014
Estimated time to complete the activity: 1 hours 30 minutes (for both modules or 45 minutes for each module).
Jointly sponsored by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and Global Education Exchange Inc.
This activity is supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.
There is no fee to participate in this CME-certified activity.
Program overview
The clinical care of seriously ill patients can often be complicated by invasive fungal infections that substantially increase morbidity and mortality. Early identification of these infections is paramount to successful clinical outcomes. Effective management of invasive fungal infections also requires individualized therapy that optimizes efficacy and safety. The clinician must be knowledgeable about fungal epidemiology and the antifungal spectrum of activity, as well as key pharmacokinetic and toxicologic characteristics of these agents, to direct successful treatment.
In this educational activity, the healthcare professional will be instructed on the current diagnostic methods and antifungal therapies, as well as how to best integrate them into patient care.
Target audience
This activity was designed to meet the needs of infectious disease specialists who are involved in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of invasive fungal infections. Other healthcare professionals are also invited to participate.
Faculty and module topics
Module 1:
John R. Perfect MD
Professor of Medicine, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
Fungal diagnosis: how do we do it and can we do better?
Upon completion of this module, learners should be able to:
Explain the value of diagnostic tests for fungi
Integrate fungi diagnostics into treatment strategies
Describe the limitations and future for fungal diagnostics
Module 2:
David Andes MD
Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin, Department of Medicine and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Head, Division of Infectious Diseases, Madison, WI, USA
Optimizing antifungal choice and administration
Upon completion of this module, learners should be able to:
Choose the optimal antifungal drug based on spectrum of activity
Assess the optimal drug dosing regimen
Apply antifungal serum concentration monitoring strategies to improve the safety of antifungal therapy
Accreditation statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and Global Education Exchange Inc. (GLOBEX). The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit designation
Module 1:
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Module 2:
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
There is no fee to participate in this CME-certified activity.
Disclosure of conflicts of interest
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) assesses conflict of interest with its instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of CME activities. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are thoroughly vetted by PIM for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.
The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:
David Andes MD: consulting fees and contracted research – Astellas, Merck & Co. Inc.
John R. Perfect MD: consulting fees – Astellas, Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer, Viamet.
Research grants: Astellas, Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer.
The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:
Meri D. Pozo PhD: no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
The following PIM planners and managers – Laura Excell ND NP MS MA LPC NCC, Trace Hutchison PharmD, Samantha Mattiucci PharmD CCMEP, Jan Schultz RN MSN CCMEP, and Patricia Staples MSN NP-C CCRN – hereby state that they or their spouse/life partner do not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months.
Disclosure of unlabeled use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM), Global Education Exchange Inc. (GLOBEX), and Merck & Co. Inc. do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.
The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of PIM, GLOBEX, and Merck & Co. Inc. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.
Peer review
This CME supplement has been peer-reviewed by Current Medical Research & Opinion.
Method of participation
There are no fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this activity. During the period March 2013 through March 2014, participants must read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures and study the educational activity.
PIM supports Green CME by offering your Request for Credit online. If you wish to receive acknowledgment for completing this activity, please complete the post-test and evaluation on www.cmeuniversity.com. On the navigation menu, click on ‘Find Post-test/Evaluation by Course’ and search by course ID 9221 and 9224. Upon registering and successfully completing the post-test with a score of 70% or better and the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately. Processing credit requests online will reduce the amount of paper used by nearly 100,000 sheets per year.
Media
Journal supplement.
Disclaimer
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.