Utilizing Advanced Tools to Minimize the Burden of CMV in Transplant Recipients

Release Date: Thursday, August 3, 2017

Expiration Date: Friday, August 3, 2018

Educational Overview
Advances in medicine have made the use of solid organ and stem cell transplantation viable options for long-term clinical success for a variety of serious medical conditions. However, transplant recipients remain at higher risk of severe complications due to immunosuppressive regimens, particularly opportunistic infections caused by a variety of pathogens. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a significant pathogen post transplantation. Long-term clinical success post-transplantation will require effective prevention and treatment of CMV infection (i.e., asymptomatic stage) and CMV disease (i.e., presence of symptoms). Prevention can be accomplished through antiviral prophylaxis or pre-emptive approaches. Treatment of CMV disease is also increasingly challenging with the presence of CMV exhibiting resistance to traditional antiviral agents (e.g., ganciclovir). Clinicians must be aware of the latest technologies and new agents that can be used to optimize long-term patient outcomes following transplantation.

Target Audience
Long-term success of transplant recipients requires an interdisciplinary approach that includes all healthcare providers involved in the management of these patients to prevent and treat CMV viremia. Therefore, this continuing medical education activity targets ID clinicians involved in the care of transplant recipients. These include ID physicians and pharmacists, nurses, microbiologists and allied healthcare providers.

Learning Objectives
Those attending the program will be able at its conclusion to:

Recognize the burden of CMV and identify risk factors for CMV infection and disease
Evaluate the benefits and risks of antiviral prophylaxis versus pre-emptive approaches in the prevention of CMV
Assess the utility of advanced diagnostic monitoring tools to guide medical decision-making for patients with or at risk of CMV
Describe the mechanisms of CMV resistance and assess the potential role of newer and emerging antiviral agents in overcoming resistance

Educational Format

This Online Presentation is based on the Satellite Symposium presented at ASM Microbe in New Orleans, LA on Friday, June 2, 2017. It is divided into 6 episodes:

Episode 1

Recognizing the Burden of CMV and Risk Factors for Infection
Atul Humar, MD

Episode 2

Role of Diagnostics in Monitoring CMV Infection and Treatment Response
Michael J. Boeckh, MD

Episode 3

Utilizing Immune Monitoring Assays to Predict CMV Disease
SOT-focus – Atul Humar, MD
HSCT-focus – Roy F. Chemaly, MD

Episode 4

Prevention of CMV: Latest Approaches in Prophylaxis and Pre-emptive Strategies
Roy F. Chemaly, MD

Episode 5

Mechanisms of CMV Resistance and Emerging Tools to Overcome It
Michael J. Boeckh, MD

Episode 6

Learning by Sharing: Q and A

Note: If you have received credit for attending the live program by the same name, you are not eligible to apply for credit for this online version.

Faculty

Roy F. Chemaly, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FACP

Professor of Medicine
Director, Infection Control Section
Director of Clinical Virology
Department of ID/IC/EH
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Michael J. Boeckh, MD, PhD

Member, Vaccine and Infectious Disease & Clinical Research Divisions
Head, Infectious Disease Sciences Program
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Professor, Department of Medicine
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

Atul Humar, MD, FRCP(C)

Director, Multi Organ Transplant Program
R. Fraser Elliott Chair in Transplantation
University Health Network
Director University of Toronto Transplant Institute
Toronto, ON

Accreditation

Physicians

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of Center for Independent Healthcare Education (Center) and Vemco MedEd. Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Center designates this Enduring material for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacists
Center for Independent Healthcare Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider for continuing pharmacy education. Center has assigned 2.0 contact hours (0.2 CEUs) of continuing pharmacy education credits for participating in this activity.
ACPE UAN: 0473-9999-17-011-H01-P
Activity type: Knowledge-based

For questions regarding accreditation, please contact info@jointsponsor.com.

Method of Participation and Instruction for Credit

Review the entire CE information including target audience, learning objectives, and disclosures.
Review each episode.
Complete the Post Test, Evaluation, and Credit Application Form.
Please note that to receive credit you must achieve a score of at least 70%.
Pharmacists: The information that you participated will be uploaded to CPEMonitor and you will be able to access your credits from the profile you set up with NABP. For more information, please visit http://www.nabp.net/.
Physicians: Certificate of Credit will be emailed within 4 weeks of successful completion of the activity.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
In accordance with policies set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Center for Independent Healthcare Education requires all faculty members and spouses/significant others with an opportunity to affect the content of a continuing education activity to disclose any relevant financial relationships during the past 12 months with commercial interests. A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, reselling or distributing health care goods or services consumed by or used on patients. Relationships with commercial interests and conflicts of interest resulting from those relationships must be revealed to the audience and resolved prior to the activity.

Relevant relationships include roles such as speaker, author, consultant, independent contractor (including research), employee, investor, advisory committee member, board member, review panelist, and investigator. If a potential speaker or author indicates a possible conflict of interest, the conflict will be resolved by choosing another speaker or author for that topical area, or the slides, handouts, and/or monograph will be reviewed and approved by a qualified commercially-disinterested peer.

Disclosures

Roy F. Chemaly has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
            Advisory Board: Merck & Co., Inc., Chimerix, Astellas, Oxford Immunotec
            Consultant: Oxford Immunotec
            Research Support: Merck & Co., Inc., Chimerix, Shire, Novartis
Dr. Chemaly discusses off-label uses of the following: Letermovir, Maribavir and Brincidofovir

Michael J. Boeckh, MD has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
            Consultant: Gilead Sciences, Humabs Biomed, Aviragen Therapeutics Inc., Ansun Biopharma
            Research Support: Roche/Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Ansun Biopharma, Humabs Biomed, Aviragen Therapeutics Inc.
            Other: Pulmotect (DSMB)
Dr. Boeckh discusses off-label uses of the following: swabs for viral self-testing

Atul Humar, MD has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
Advisory Board: Astellas
Consultant: Chimerix
Dr. Humar does not discuss the off-label uses of any products.

No other speakers, authors, planners or content reviewers have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Content review confirmed that the content was developed in a fair, balanced manner free from commercial bias. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone commercial bias in any presentation, but it is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation.

Fee
There is no fee to participate in this activity.

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Joint Providership
This activity is jointly provided by Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd.

Commercial Support

This activity is supported by educational grants from Merck & Co., Inc. and Oxford Immunotec

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