Pharmacotherapy
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Comparative Study
Comparison of the incidence of vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity in hospitalized patients with and without concomitant piperacillin-tazobactam.
To determine whether the addition of piperacillin-tazobactam leads to an increased incidence of nephrotoxicity in patients receiving vancomycin and to explore potential confounding factors that may increase the risk of vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity. ⋯ We observed an increased incidence of nephrotoxicity in vancomycin-treated patients who received concomitant piperacillin-tazobactam. A steady-state vancomycin trough concentration of 15 μg/ml or greater was also associated with an increased risk of the development of nephrotoxicity. These findings should be confirmed in larger, randomized studies.
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Synthetic, or "designer" drugs, are created by manipulating the chemical structures of other psychoactive drugs so that the resulting product is structurally similar but not identical to illegal psychoactive drugs. Originally developed in the 1960s as a way to evade existing drug laws, the use of designer drugs has increased dramatically over the past few years. These drugs are deceptively packaged as "research chemicals," "incense," "bath salts," or "plant food," among other names, with labels that may contain warnings such as "not for human consumption" or "not for sale to minors." The clinical effects of most new designer drugs can be described as either hallucinogenic, stimulant, or opioid-like. ⋯ The easy accessibility and rapid emergence of new designer drugs have created challenges for health care providers when treating patients presenting with acute toxicity from these substances, many of which can produce significant and/or life-threatening adverse effects. Moreover, the health care provider has no way to verify the contents and/or potency of the agent ingested because it can vary between packages and distributors. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of the available designer drugs, common signs and symptoms of toxicity associated with these agents, and potential effective treatment modalities are essential to appropriately manage these patients.
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The effect of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on warfarin has gained attention because of an increased risk of thromboembolism and an increased risk of bleeding associated with warfarin treatment in these patients. Data suggest that patients with reduced kidney function require lower warfarin doses; however, relatively few patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were included in previous studies. The goal of this study was to evaluate warfarin dosing requirements and time to reach therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) in patients with CKD stages 3-5 and ESRD compared with patients with normal kidney function (NKF). ⋯ Our findings suggest that CKD and ESRD patients require ~20% lower warfarin doses to maintain a therapeutic INR and may require less time to achieve a therapeutic INR compared with patients with NKF.
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The use of levetiracetam for the treatment of epilepsy in women of childbearing age has increased as more evidence of teratogenicity of other broad-spectrum antiepileptic medications becomes available. Levetiracetam appears to be associated with a low incidence of major congenital malformations based on data from pregnancy registries. Major pregnancy-related changes in the pharmacokinetics of levetiracetam have been described in several case series, demonstrating a role for careful therapeutic drug monitoring of levetiracetam in pregnant patients. ⋯ This is the first case report, to our knowledge, to describe seizure breakthrough during pregnancy with an extended-release formulation of an antiepileptic medication. Pharmacokinetic changes associated with pregnancy may increase apparent clearance of extended-release formulations of levetiracetam, leading to periods of subtherapeutic blood or central nervous system concentrations. These changes support the important role of therapeutic monitoring of levetiracetam plasma concentrations to help maintain seizure control in women with epilepsy during pregnancy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity in adult medicine patients: incidence, outcomes, and risk factors.
The prevalence of vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity (VAN) is reported to vary from 1.0-42.6%, with most data from critically ill patients. Evaluation of VAN among internal medicine patients is lacking. Our objectives were to determine the incidence, time-course, outcomes, and risk factors of VAN in adult internal medicine patients. ⋯ Vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity is prevalent among internal medicine patients, with 5.36-fold higher odds if piperacillin-tazobactam is concomitantly administered.