• Adam Brancaccio, Christopher Giuliano, Kelly McNorton, and George Delgado.
• Adam Brancaccio, Pharm..D., BCPS, is Clinical Pharmacist Generalist-Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, and Adjunct Clinical Faculty, University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, Ann Arbor; at the time of writing, he was Postgraduate Year 1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, Department of Pharmacy, St. John Hospital and Medical Center (SJHMC), Detroit, MI. Christopher Giuliano, Pharm.D., is Assistant Professor, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, and Clinical Specialist, Internal Medicine, Department of Pharmacy, SJHMC. Kelly McNorton, Pharm.D., BCPS, is Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Critical Care; and George Delgado Jr., Pharm.D., is Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Emergency Medicine/Infectious Diseases, Department of Pharmacy, SJHMC.
• Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2014 Nov 1;71(21):1862-9.

PurposeThe use of a combined physician-and pharmacist-directed phenytoin loading dose program in an emergency department (ED) was evaluated.MethodsThis single-center, observational, preimplementation-postimplementation study evaluated adult patients who received a phenytoin loading dose in the ED. The primary outcome compared the proportion of optimal phenytoin loading doses in the preimplementation and postimplementation groups. The postimplementation group was further stratified into pharmacist- and prescriber-dosing groups. Other outcomes evaluated included the numbers of appropriate serum phenytoin concentrations measured, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and recurrence of seizures within 24 hours of loading dose administration in the preimplementation and postimplementation groups.ResultsThere was no difference in the proportion of optimal phenytoin loading doses between the preimplementation and postimplementation groups (50% versus 62%, respectively; p=0.19). When stratified by individual groups, the rate of optimal phenytoin loading doses increased by 64% in the postimplementation pharmacist group (50% versus 82%, p=0.007), while the rate in the prescriber-dosing group remained relatively unchanged (50% versus 49%, p=0.91). The number of appropriate serum phenytoin concentrations significantly improved in the postimplementation versus preimplementation group (65% versus 40%, p=0.025). Rates of ADRs and recurrence of seizures did not differ across the study groups.ConclusionNo change in the percentage of optimal phenytoin loading doses in the ED was observed after implementation of a combined pharmacist- and physician- dosing program. When stratified into pharmacist or prescriber dosing, the pharmacist-led dosing program significantly improved the proportion of patients who received optimal phenytoin loading doses.Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

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