Risk factors for acute kidney injury in adult patients receiving vancomycin.

Background And Objective: Questions have been raised regarding nephrotoxicity from vancomycin. A few small studies have shown that higher trough concentrations of vancomycin result in more nephrotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors that may predispose patients to nephrotoxicity in those concomitantly receiving vancomycin.

Evaluating the impact of a pharmacist's absence from an antimicrobial stewardship team.

Purpose: Results of a study to determine the impact of a clinical pharmacist's temporary absence from a hospital's antimicrobial stewardship team are presented.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted to compare the appropriateness of the use of selected antimicrobial medications with and without regular pharmacist involvement on the hospital's antimicrobial stewardship team. The charts of two samples of patients were evaluated: (1) 119 patients who had received prolonged (≥72 hours) imipenem-cilastatin, linezolid, or micafungin therapy over a three-month period during which a clinical pharmacist routinely provided interventions to help ensure the drugs were used according to institutional guidelines and (2) 111 patients treated with one of the three drugs during a three-month period when the clinical pharmacist did not serve on the stewardship team.

The Retrospective Cohort of Extended-Infusion Piperacillin-Tazobactam (RECEIPT) study: a multicenter study.

Study Objective: To compare the effectiveness of extended-infusion piperacillin-tazobactam with that of similar-spectrum, nonextended-infusion [H9252]-lactam antibiotics in the treatment of gram-negative infections.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective medical record review.

Setting: Fourteen hospitals throughout the United States.

Anidulafungin and its role in candida infections.

Candida infections continue to play a significant role not only in critically ill and immunocompromised patients but also in non-compromised patients. The incidence of systemic fungal infections in the United States has been on the rise for the past 30 years. Anidulafungin and all echinocandins inhibit glucan synthase thus inhibiting the formation of 1,3-β-D-glucan which is an essential component of the fungal cell wall.

The echinocandins.

The changing pattern in fungal infections has driven the need to expand the targets of antifungal activity. The echinocandins are the newest addition to the arsenal against fungal infections. Three echinocandins have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration: caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin.