Pharmacotherapy
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Review
Tissue plasminogen activator for the treatment of parapneumonic effusions in pediatric patients.
Intrapleural fibrinolysis has been investigated for the treatment of pleural effusion for several decades. Fibrinolytics have the ability to break up fibrin and loculations that characterize complicated pleural effusions, facilitating drainage. Older fibrinolytics such as urokinase and streptokinase have been replaced by tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for this indication due to product availability and a more favorable safety profile. ⋯ Over the past decade, data on the efficacy of intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy in children have also been generated, which now support the use of fibrinolysis as a treatment alternative to more invasive therapeutic options such as surgical intervention. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of parapneumonic effusion and empyema, with a focus on intrapleural fibrinolysis, specifically tissue plasminogen activator, in the pediatric population. Recent articles provide sufficient evidence to support the use of this drug in pediatric patients for the management of pleural effusions; however, due to study heterogeneity, questions remain that may be addressed in future studies.
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To determine the rate of secondary prevention cardiovascular drug utilization in a cohort of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery—including specific drugs and their dosages, drug adherence, and assessment of targeted therapy--from admission to 1 year after CABG surgery. ⋯ The utilization rate for patients receiving all four classes of secondary prevention cardiovascular medications was 35% at discharge and 48% at 1 year after CABG surgery. These rates were primarily limited by the low utilization of angiotensin-modulating agents, although their rate improved by 22% from discharge. Utilization rates, however, were high for aspirin, β-blockers, and statins both at discharge and 1 year after surgery. Opportunities remain to further optimize secondary prevention cardiovascular pharmacotherapy in patients who undergo CABG surgery, either while in the hospital or immediately subsequent to discharge.
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Comparative Study
Comparative effectiveness of linezolid and vancomycin among a national veterans affairs cohort with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia.
As variability in vancomycin dosing, susceptibility, and tolerability has driven the need to compare newer agents with vancomycin in real-world clinical settings, we sought to quantify the effectiveness of linezolid compared with vancomycin on clinical outcomes for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia. ⋯ Individual clinical outcomes were similar among patients treated for MRSA pneumonia with linezolid compared with vancomycin. A significantly higher rate of the composite outcome of clinical success was observed, however, among patients treated with linezolid compared with vancomycin.