Effect of Obesity on Clinical Failure of Patients Treated With β-Lactams.

Background: Altered pharmacokinetics in obese patients raise concerns over worse clinical outcomes. This study assessed whether obese patients receiving a β-lactam have worse clinical outcomes compared to nonobese patients and to identify if therapeutic drug monitoring may be beneficial.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort included hospitalized adults admitted from July 2015 to July 2017 treated with a β-lactam as definitive monotherapy against a gram-negative bacilli for ≥72 hours.

Impact of the Joint Commission Pneumonia Core Measure on Antibiotic Use and Selection for Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Emergency Room.

Background: Prior to 2012, The Joint Commission (TJC) pneumonia core measure (PN-5) required antibiotic administration for suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) within 6 hours of arrival to the emergency room (ER). In 2012, TJC issued PN-6 requiring antibiotic administration within 24 hours of presentation. Though PN-6 was anticipated to reduce overuse and inappropriate antibiotic use and improve appropriate antibiotic selection, the impact of PN-5 and PN-6 on optimizing care for CAP in the ER remains unknown.