Ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetic profiles in paediatric sepsis: how much ciprofloxacin is enough?

Objective: To determine the pharmacokinetic profile of ciprofloxacin 20 mg/kg per day (10 mg/kg administered intravenously 12 hourly) in paediatric patients with severe sepsis.

Design: Open and prospective.

Setting: Tertiary referral multi-disciplinary ICU.

Do steroids prevent reintubation in children with laryngotracheobronchitis?

Background: Classic laryngotrachoebronchitis (LTB) is an inflammatory process, with oedema and secretions that involve the entire laryngotracheobronchial tree. The severity of lower airway disease in African children with LTB has previously been documented. The aim of the present study was to determine whether steroids prevent reintubation in African children with classic LTB.

Poor discriminatory performance of the Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score in a South African intensive care unit.

Objective: The use of the Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score or other scoring systems in the intensive care unit (ICU) is of great importance for evaluating the efficacy and efficiency of a particular ICU. However, the PRISM score was developed and validated in the United States and subsequently validated in Europe, but has not been evaluated in a less affluent society. In general, scoring systems should be used only in populations similar to the reference population in which the prediction model was developed.