Daily cost of antimicrobial therapy in patients with Intensive Care Unit-acquired, laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection.

This study analysed daily antimicrobial costs of Intensive Care Unit (ICU)-acquired, laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection (BSI) per patient admitted to the ICU of a university hospital, based on prospectively collected data over a 4-year period (2003-2006). Costs were calculated based on the price of the agent(s) initiated on the first day of appropriate treatment and according to: (i) focus of infection; (ii) pathogen; and (iii) antimicrobial agent. The study included 310 adult patients who developed 446 BSI episodes.

Outcome and changes over time in survival following severe burns from 1985 to 2004.

Objective: To investigate outcome in severely burned patients over a 20-year period and to evaluate survival over time.

Design And Setting: Historical cohort in a six-bed burn unit of a 1060-bed university hospital.

Patients: 1385 patients admitted to the burn unit over a 20-year period.