Free CME

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Ocular allergy (OA), also known as allergic eye disease, is an ocular surface hypersensitivity disorder resulting from an abnormal immunologic response of the eye to various antigens. It is not a single clinical entity, rather it includes the following conditions with differing hypersensitivity mechanisms, diagnostic criteria, pathogenesis, and management strategies: seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC), perennial allergic conjunctivitis (PAC), vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), atopic keratoconjunctivitis, giant papillary conjunctivitis, and contact dermatoconjunctivitis. OA affects approximately 40% of the global population, with SAC and PAC specifically affecting 15 to 25%. Ocular itch associated with SAC and PAC is the hallmark symptom of the disease. The multifactorial dimensions of OA contribute to economic ramifications in the United States (US) estimated at $2 billion annually in prescriptions, with the costs associated with over-the-counter (OTC) medications projected to be tenfold higher than prescription sales.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: ophthalmologists, allergists, and general practitioners; physician assistants and nurse practitioners in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other clinicians involved or interested in the treatment of ocular allergy.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer and the fourth most common cancer in women living in the United States, with approximately 66,000 cancers of the uterine corpus diagnosed every year and over 12,000 associated deaths. The vast majority of women are diagnosed with endometrial cancer after the age of 50, and risk factors are obesity, level of physical activity, increasing age, and the presence of a variety of comorbid, chronic health conditions. The costs associated with endometrial cancer may amount to tens of thousands of dollars per patient, depending on the stage of disease upon diagnosis. The five-year survival rate for patients with localized disease is 95%, but survival rates drop to 18% in patients with advanced disease, one in ten patients is diagnosed with distant cancer, representing an area of ongoing clinical need.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: medical, including gynecologic, oncologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in oncology; and other clinicians who commonly encounter patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are nearly 1.2 million people aged 13 years and older living with HIV (PLWH) in the U.S. Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, advances in public health initiatives and treatments have considerably lengthened the life expectancy of PLWH, while simultaneously reducing transmission and diagnosis of new cases. Nonetheless, an estimated 31,000 people are infected with HIV each year in the United States, with the highest incidence in people from underserved and marginalized communities. As a result, a key component of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) strategy is to prevent new HIV infections by expanding use of evidence-based interventions.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: Infectious disease specialists, primary care physicians, and public health professionals; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in infectious disease; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter HIV.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common monogenic blood disorder, affecting millions of people worldwide and approximately 100,000 Americans. Although it may be found in various areas of the world, SCD predominantly affects individuals of African or Hispanic heritage. It is caused by the inheritance of b-globin alleles that code for hemoglobin S, resulting in an amino acid substitution in hemoglobin’s b chain and clinical disease. Patients with SCD have impaired circulation, and lysis of the erythrocytes contributes to a chronic inflammatory response, causing severe pain and less efficient oxygen delivery. The hallmark clinical features of SCD are hemolytic anemia and painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs), which may lead to emergency department visits, hospitalization, and potentially fatal complications such as acute chest syndrome, stroke, or pneumonia. In one US study, 45% of deaths among people with SCD were related to cardiopulmonary causes, and VOCs alone have been shown to increase the risk of death by 50%. SCD may disrupt employment or school and is associated with a significant reduction in quality of life. This learning activity has been designed to bring HCPs’ knowledge of rationale behind treatment of SCD up to date and to enhance their competence and performance in the condition’s management.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is an ultra-rare genetic connective tissue disorder characterized by dysregulated chondrogenesis, with heterotopic ossification (HO) being the most typical feature. The global prevalence of FOP is estimated at 1.43 per million individuals, with a U.S. prevalence of 0.88 per million. FOP develops due to a mutation in the ACVR1 gene encoding the active receptor-like kinase (ALK2), with unique presenting symptoms including great toe malformations and the development of swelling in several areas of the body within the first decade of life.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: pediatricians, pediatric orthopedic surgeons, endocrinologists, and medical geneticists; nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who practice in orthopedics, orthopedic surgery, and rheumatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with FOP.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare genetic condition caused by an autosomal dominant mutation of the VHL tumor suppressor gene. The mutation gives rise to an abnormal VHL protein that cannot bind effectively to protein HIF-1α, leading to the transcription of multiple genes and upregulation of growth factors. The condition is thought to affect between 1 in 39,000 and 1 in 91,000, with a birth incidence of between 1 in 36,000 and 1 in 45,500. Diagnosis of VHL disease is established when the patient undergoes genetic testing and a pathogenic mutation of the VHL gene is found. Genetic testing is typically conducted if the patient has a family history of VHL or they are showing signs of VHL-related symptoms. VHL disease is characterized by tumors and cysts growing in various parts of the body, including the brain, spine, eyes, inner ears, pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands, and reproductive tract. The clinical presentation of the disease is different in every patient and is impossible to predict, so close monitoring is required. Complications of the disease are on a case-by-case basis, but patients with VHL are at an increased risk of developing some cancers, particularly clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and pancreatic cancer.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: Medical and genitourinary oncologists, urologists, and nephrologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists specializing in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other HCPs involved or interested in treatment of VHL disease.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a relatively rare, aggressive cancer that most commonly affects the pleural space (81%) in cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), followed by the peritoneum (9%). Over 80% of MPM patients and 33% of patients with peritoneal MM have a documented prior exposure to asbestos or related minerals. It is thought that the inhaled asbestos fibers interact with mesothelial and inflammatory cells, leading to repeatedly prolonged cell cycles and direct DNA damage. There are three distinct histologic subtypes of MPM, but determining subtypes requires expert assessment and suitable biopsies that are not always available, which may lead to delays in the start of treatment.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: Medical oncologists and pulmonologists; physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists specializing in oncology; and other clinicians who are involved in providing diagnostic and therapeutic services for patients with malignant mesothelioma.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Pompe disease (PD) is a progressive, often fatal, autosomal recessive, neuromuscular disorder caused by mutations of the α-glucosidase gene on chromosome 17. PD is characterized by glycogen accumulation in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles due to a deficiency in α-glucosidase (GAA), an important lysosomal enzyme responsible for glycogen catabolism. PD is categorized into three groups based on symptoms and age of onset. The classic infantile form presents in the first year of life, usually in the first two months, with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The non-classic infantile form presents later in the first year of life, without or with less severe cardiomyopathy. The late onset form of PD presents any time after one year of life, usually without cardiac complications.

PD is rare, with one study estimating the incidence in the U.S. to be 1 in 22,000 births. The biggest risk factor for the disease is genetics; at conception, each sibling of an affected individual has a 25% chance of being affected, a 50% chance of being an asymptomatic carrier, and a 25% chance of being not a carrier. Nonspecific diagnostic findings for PD may include abnormal EMG, elevated serum creatine kinase, elevated transaminases and elevated lactate dehydrogenase. A definitive diagnosis for PD involves a dried blood spot test to determine GAA enzyme activity level; reduced GAA activity (less than 40% of normal) is indicative of a positive diagnosis. A gene mutation analysis, or another GAA enzyme test using a different area of tissue, is recommended to confirm the diagnosis. The disease is not uncommonly undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed, representing one practice gap that continued HCP education may address, particularly given that earlier treatment may minimize rapid and irreversible disease progression.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: Neurologists, pediatricians, and primary care physicians; physician assistants and nurse practitioners in those areas of specialty; pharmacists who practice in specialty pharmacies that treat patients with rare diseases; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who may clinically encounter patients with PD.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Thalassemias are a group of recessively inherited blood disorders characterized by little or no hemoglobin production and chronic anemia of varying severity. Beta-thalassemia (BT) is most commonly found in people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African descent. Worldwide, 1.5% of people are BT carriers, with about 40,000 infants born with BT annually. About half of patients with BT are transfusion-dependent, which may significantly impact patient quality of life. BT is caused by a point mutation in the gene encoding hemoglobin subunit beta (HBB), resulting in either lower beta-globin production (termed beta-plus [B⁺]) or the prevention of all beta-globin production (termed beta-zero [B⁰]). Disease severity depends on the extent of hemoglobin β and γ chain imbalance.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: hematologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in hematology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who may clinically encounter patients with beta-thalassemia.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) occurs in an estimated five to seven percent of term births and up to 90% of preterm births. The risk for neonatal RDS decreases with increasing gestational age,  such that at a gestational age of 37 weeks, the risk has fallen to just three times that of a full-term infant. In addition to premature birth, risk factors for neonatal RDS include maternal gestational diabetes, male sex, multiparity, abnormal fetoplacental circulation, fetal distress, Cesarean delivery, and low birth weight. The ability for the clinician to recognize neonatal RDS is a documented practice gap, and failure to do so is associated with mortality and complications that may include respiratory failure in the short-term and chronic lung disease in the long-term.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: neonatologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in neonatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with neonatal RDS.  

In this online, self-learning activity:

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) occurs in an estimated five to seven percent of term births and up to 90% of preterm births. The risk for neonatal RDS decreases with increasing gestational age,  such that at a gestational age of 37 weeks, the risk has fallen to just three times that of a full-term infant. In addition to premature birth, risk factors for neonatal RDS include maternal gestational diabetes, male sex, multiparity, abnormal fetoplacental circulation, fetal distress, Cesarean delivery, and low birth weight. The ability for the clinician to recognize neonatal RDS is a documented practice gap, and failure to do so is associated with mortality and complications that may include respiratory failure in the short-term and chronic lung disease in the long-term.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: neonatologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in neonatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with neonatal RDS.