Pilot comparison of three cardiopulmonary resuscitation medication dosing strategies in overweight children.

Objectives: Dose calculations using three variations of patient weight estimates (actual body weight [ABW], ideal body weight [IBW], and the Broselow Pediatric Emergency Tape [BPET, a length-based weight estimation tool]) were compared to administered doses of cardiopulmonary resuscitation medications in overweight and obese children to assess for differences in dose.

Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis included 54 consecutive pediatric patients who underwent emergency resuscitation at UMass Memorial Medical Center between January 2000 and October 2008. Patients were identified using ICD-9 codes related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Evaluation of the impact of a tele-ICU pharmacist on the management of sedation in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients.

Background: An organized and uniform approach to managing sedation in critically ill patients has been associated with improved outcomes, but the most effective means of optimizing sedative medication use in clinical practice has not been fully determined. Pharmacist interventions directed at improving sedation guideline compliance have been shown to reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation.

Objective: To determine the impact that pharmacy staffing configurations that include a tele-ICU pharmacist have on compliance with an intensive care unit (ICU) sedation guideline in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients requiring continuous-infusion sedative medications.

Pharmacist-conducted medication reconciliation in an emergency department.

Purpose: The effect of pharmacist conducted medication reconciliation on compliance with a hospital's medication reconciliation policy was studied.

Methods: In this eight-week pilot study, one pharmacist worked in the emergency department (ED) to facilitate the safe and accurate transfer of medication histories for admitted patients. During the first four weeks, retrospective chart review was performed for 100 patients in March 2006 to determine the compliance rate to the hospital's medication reconciliation policy (medication reconciliation completed for every patient using the hospital-approved form).