Temperature Excursions in Cold Chain Management-Assessing the Accuracy of Refrigerator Temperature Probes.

Medications requiring refrigeration for stability are commonly used across hospitals. Temperature-sensitive medications may not have their temperature requirements maintained due to breaches in the cold chain, especially refrigerator failure. This is usually caused by malfunction of the refrigerator unit or by power outage.

Longer-term compliance benefits of oncology-specific smart pump drug error reduction systems.

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

Safety of intramuscular tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) administration in patients at risk of iatrogenic haematoma due to haematological disorders.

Introduction: Traditionally, intramuscular (IM) injections have been avoided in patients with haematological diseases due to the risk of iatrogenic haematoma. Tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) is a novel monoclonal antibody combination used as preexposure prophylaxis against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), for those at highest risk of severe infections. It is delivered as two separate IM injections (1.

Rapid rituximab administration: Safety of 60-minute infusions in malignant and benign haematological disease.

Introduction: Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody used to treat a range of malignant and benign haematological conditions. To minimise the risk of infusion-related toxicity, initial infusions are administered slowly over 4-6 h. In the absence of significant reactions, subsequent doses are often administered over an off-label rate of 90 min.

A survey of operating theatre staff on the impact of automated medication dispensing systems in operating theatres in an Australian hospital.

There is a lack of published literature investigating the impact of anaesthesia-specific automated medication dispensing systems on theatre staff. This study aimed to investigate the perspectives of theatre staff from multiple disciplines on their experience using anaesthesia stations three years after implementation at our Western Australian quaternary hospital institution. A web-based survey was distributed to 440 theatre staff, which included consultant anaesthetists, anaesthetic trainees, nurses, anaesthetic technicians and pharmacists, and 118 responses were received (response rate 26.

A Survey of Australian Hospital Pharmacy Staff Knowledge, Practices, and Assessment of Animal-derived Medications.

This study aims to determine the knowledge and practices of Australian hospital pharmacy staff regarding animal-derived ingredients in medications and reviewing whether commonly used medications contain animal-derived ingredients. The study surveyed 67 pharmacy staff and reviewed 20 medications. Ninety-eight percent of staff were aware patients may have religious or cultural restrictions on ingesting animal-derived products; 33% discussed this issue with patients.

Navigating the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: federal versus state government funding for high-cost medicines – a problem for public hospitals.

The funding of medication supply in Australian public hospitals is divided between the federal government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and thestate or territory government who pay for the remaining medications not covered under the PBS. For some high-cost medications, such as the monoclonal antibody blinatumomab, the current criteria for PBS funding in public hospitals are challenging. The strict requirement for inpatient admission, due to the risk of potentially serious adverse effects, alongside a lack of PBS reimbursement, while a hospital inpatient, may result in the state bearing the cost.

Impact of a Review of a Smart Infusion Pump Library in Hematology/Oncology: Tailoring Content to Meet Specialty Needs.

Objectives: Errors involving chemotherapy or intravenous medications may cause serious patient harm. Dose error reduction software (DERS) for "smart" infusion pumps offers additional safety protection for their administration. Our institution uses DERS software hospital-wide; however, the hematology/oncology areas were noted to have reduced compliance with DERS recommendations.

An evaluation of automated dispensing cabinets and inventory robots for centralised distribution of medication in an Australian hospital.

Objective In Australian hospitals, a central distribution system is often utilised to supply medication to clinical areas. This study investigated the impact of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) and inventory robots in medication distribution within an Australian hospital. Methods A prospective observational study of pharmacy technician medication supply to clinical areas was conducted over a 2-week period pre- and post-implementation of ADCs and inventory robots.

Multi-route antifungal administration in the management of urinary bezoar.

A 65-year-old lady was admitted with urosepsis and imaging suggesting right sided hydronephrosis secondary to a filling defect consistent with a fungal bezoar. An indwelling urinary catheter and a right percutaneous nephrostomy tube were inserted. Candida glabrata cultured from urine was resistant to fluconazole.

The risk of intramuscular haematoma is low following injection of benzathine penicillin G in patients receiving concomitant anticoagulant therapy.

The use of intramuscular injections is widely recommended to be avoided in patients who are prescribed anticoagulant agents, both oral and parenteral due to concerns of haematoma. Benzathine penicillin G (BPG), administered via intramuscular injection, is a vital treatment component for patients with rheumatic heart disease. BPG must be administered long term (for at least a decade) as part of treatment and alternative options to intramuscular injection are currently limited.