Assessing the guidelines for potassium replacement in pediatric oncology patients receiving amphotericin B.

Objective: To examine the practice of potassium chloride (KCl) replacement in pediatric oncology patients receiving amphotericin B (amp-B).

Methods: A retrospective observational chart review was conducted of patients who received amp-B on the oncology unit between August 2000 and May 2001. A survey was distributed to pediatric oncology pharmacists at other pediatric institutions to assess KCl infusion guidelines across North America.

Utility of anti-xa monitoring in children receiving enoxaparin for therapeutic anticoagulation.

Although enoxaparin is used to treat thromboembolism in children, current treatment guidelines are largely extrapolated from adults. The objectives of this study were to determine: i) correlation between enoxaparin dose and anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa) level, ii) intra-patient variability, and iii) whether dose or anti-Xa level is a predictor of outcomes. A retrospective chart review was conducted on all hospitalized patients receiving enoxaparin in a tertiary care pediatric institution.

An assessment of published pediatric dosage guidelines for enoxaparin: a retrospective review.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of published dosage guidelines for enoxaparin to achieve therapeutic anticoagulation and to determine whether the routine monitoring of anti-Xa levels is still necessary at a tertiary care pediatric institution.

Methods: Consecutive charts and laboratory records were reviewed for all patients receiving treatment doses of enoxaparin for thrombosis in the authors institution over a 4-year period (1998-2002).

Results: Sixty-six percent (25/38) of the anti-Xa levels were within the recommended therapeutic range (0.