Course Summary

Expiration Date: 12/30/2028

The gut microbiota is a vital ecosystem that supports digestion, immune regulation, and protection against pathogens. While the effects of antibiotics on the microbiome are well known, many non-antibiotic drugs, such as antipsychotics, proton pump inhibitors, NSAIDs, and cardiovascular agents, also alter microbial composition and function. These disruptions can reduce colonization resistance and increase infection risk. This course reviews the microbiota’s physiologic roles, mechanisms of drug-induced disruption, clinical features of dysbiosis, and strategies to prevent and manage microbiome imbalance through medication stewardship, dietary interventions, and evidence-based therapies.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • The Gut Microbiota: Good vs. Bad Bacteria and Balance
  • Known and Theoretical Roles of Gut Bacteria
  • How Medications Affect the Gut Microbiota
  • Recognition of GI Microbiota Dysbiosis
  • Treatment of GI Microbiota Dysbiosis
  • Prevention of GI Microbiota Dysbiosis
  • JOURNAL CLUB: ECOLOGICAL DISRUPTION OF GUT MICROBIOTA BY NON-ANTIBIOTIC AGENTS
    • Study: Maier et al. (2018) — Extensive Impact of Non-Antibiotic Drugs on Human Gut Bacteria
    • Background
    • Methods
    • Results
  • Summary

Author

Richard Daniels, PharmD, BCPS

Richard “Cole” Daniels earned his Doctor of Pharmacy(PharmD) from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Montana in 2018. Throughout pharmacy school he completed a 3-year internship at Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana in which he gained valuable experience in an acute care setting. Cole currently serves as a psychiatric clinical staff pharmacist at the Montana State Hospital. He has over 11 years of pharmacy experience having worked in several settings including retail, acute care, and inpatient psychiatric care. Cole has a diverse set of interests. However, acute care medicine, infectious disease, pain management, and asthma/COPD are a primary focus of his at the Montana State Hospital. He obtained board certification as a certified pharmacotherapy specialist in the Spring of 2022.