ED pharmacist monitoring of provider antibiotic selection aids appropriate treatment for outpatient UTI.

Objective: We sought to determine whether an emergency department (ED) pharmacist could aid in the monitoring and correction of inappropriate empiric antibiotic selection for urinary tract infections in an outpatient ED population.

Methods: Urine cultures with greater than 100 000 CFU/mL bacteria from the University of Utah Emergency Department over 1 year (October 2011-Sept 2012) were identified using our electronic medical record system. Per ED protocol, an ED pharmacist reviews all cultures and performs a chart review of patient symptoms, diagnosis, and discharge antibiotics to determine whether the treatment was appropriate.

Tissue Plasminogen Activator Prescription and Administration Errors within a Regional Stroke System.

Background: Intravenous (IV) tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) utilization in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) requires weight-based dosing and a standardized infusion rate. In our regional network, we have tried to minimize tPA dosing errors. We describe the frequency and types of tPA administration errors made in our comprehensive stroke center (CSC) and at community hospitals (CHs) prior to transfer.

Intranasal sufentanil provides adequate analgesia for emergency department patients with extremity injuries.

Background: In emergency medicine, the ability to provide rapid, adequate pain control without high resource utilization is ideal. In this study, the efficacy of intranasal sufentanil in emergency department (ED) patients with acute distal extremity injury was evaluated.

Methods: A nonrandomized, open-label dose trial to determine safety and efficacy of intranasal sufentanil in patients with a distal extremity injury who presented to the ED with moderate to severe pain was conducted.

Diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) skin and soft tissue infections in the emergency department.

Background: Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections commonly present as skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs). Treatment often includes incision and drainage with or without adjunctive antibiotics. Emergency department (ED) pharmacists wished to provide specific data to emergency physicians to better inform antibiotic choices for patients with SSTIs.