Centralization of the methadone maintenance plan in a hospital pharmacy department in the Community of Madrid.

In February 2018, Resolution 189/2018 was published in the Autonomous Community of Madrid with the objective of centralizing the  procedure for the acquisition, preparation, distribution, and dispensing of methadone to Centres for the Comprehensive Care of Drug Addiction Patients  within the Madrid Health Service under the responsibility of a Hospital Pharmacy  Service. The Hospital Pharmacy Service began this activity in March 2018. This is the first time that the comprehensive management of a methadone  maintenance plan has been centralized in an Hospital Pharmacy Service for the care of drug-dependent patients in the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

Influence of Mechanical Ventilation on the Pharmacokinetics of Vancomycin Administered by Continuous Infusion in Critically Ill Patients.

Pathophysiological changes involved in drug disposition in critically ill patients should be considered in order to optimize the dosing of vancomycin administered by continuous infusion, and certain strategies must be applied to reach therapeutic targets on the first day of treatment. The aim of this study was to develop a population pharmacokinetic model of vancomycin to determine clinical covariates, including mechanical ventilation, that influence the wide variability of this antimicrobial. Plasma vancomycin concentrations from 54 critically ill patients were analyzed simultaneously by a population pharmacokinetic approach.