Dexamethasone: To Use or Not to Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Presented by Kathy Vu from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto and Cancer Care Ontario

Friday, January 8, 2021 at 9:00 PST, 10:00 MST, 11:00 CST, 12:00 EST, 13:00 AST

The use of dexamethasone has been controversial with changing recommendations based on best available evidence. This presentation will review the potential implications of the use of dexamethasone during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In one hour, Kathy will:

Identify patients at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and severe complication;
Examine the evidence for and against dexamethasone to treat COVID-19;
Examine the evidence for and against the routine use of dexamethasone during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Describe the Grant et al. paper on dexamethasone sparing for cancer patients.

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Kathy Vu

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto — Toronto, Ontario

Kathy graduated from the University of Toronto where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy. She later went on to complete a hospital residency program and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Kathy’s area of clinical expertise is in oncology and health systems approach to delivering safe and high-quality care to cancer patients. Kathy has held many leadership roles throughout her career. She was a Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner at St. Michael’s Hospital before joining Ontario Health, Cancer Care Ontario as the provincial Clinical Lead for Safety Initiatives and as the Program Manager for the Systemic Treatment Program. Kathy is currently an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. She is also the Director of the PharmD for Pharmacists Program and the Director of the Office on Continuing Professional Development. Kathy continues to hold the position of provincial Clinical Lead, Safety Initiatives at Ontario Health, Cancer Care Ontario. Kathy is a strong believer in life-long learning and has led multiple initiatives to develop continuing education programs in oncology and biologics. She is also immersed as a learner having recently completed a Master’s program at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and other certificate programs on effective teaching and education scholarship. Kathy’s research interests include both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to enhance patient safety, particularly related to oral anticancer medications. Her work has helped to inform policies and quality improvement initiatives provincially.

Kathy graduated from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and went on to complete a hospital residency and her PharmD degree. She is currently completing a Master’s program at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Kathy has practiced for over 20 years in oncology in various leadership positions in hospital, government and academic organizations. Currently, Kathy is an Assistant Professor and Director of the PharmD for Pharmacists Program at U of T. She is also the provincial Clinical Lead for Safety and Chair of the Systemic Treatment Incident Learning Committee at Cancer Care Ontario.

Once registered, you will receive an email confirmation containing the Adobe Connect meeting link.

Please take a moment to print copies of the invitation flyer and post them within your pharmacy department or clinic offices. Also, feel free to circulate the announcement to your professional network via email, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Encourage your colleagues to become CAPhO members to take advantage of this great learning opportunity.

Do the date and time not work for you? You can watch the webinar at your leisure after the broadcast on the CAPhO website. Simply login as a member and visit the Watch a Webinar page.