The effect of age and weight on vancomycin serum trough concentrations in pediatric patients.

Background: Vancomycin treatment failure has been associated with low serum vancomycin trough concentrations, prompting recommendations to increase the daily doses in adults and children. Despite more aggressive vancomycin dosing, there continues to be significant variability in vancomycin trough concentrations in pediatric patients.

Methods: To determine if vancomycin trough concentrations in pediatric patients differ by age and weight, we reviewed records of hospitalized patients who received vancomycin between 2008 and 2012.

[Methacholine test in the study of non-specific bronchial reactivity in a group of patients allergic to pollen].

We have studied thirty subjects sensitive to pollens suffering from seasonal rhinitis and/or mild seasonal asthma. The patients were submitted to a preseasonal and to a seasonal evaluation of their bronchial reactivity by means of a metacholine provocation test in order to measure possible variations of their responsiveness. Our data shown that the metacholine provocation test is not substantially influenced by seasonal pollen stimulation; it is likely that in patients sensitive to pollens, aspecific bronchial reactivity is intermittent, so explaining the inconstant behaviour of responsiveness observed in our allergic patients.