Advanced drug delivery reviews
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Nov 2014
ReviewUsing skin for drug delivery and diagnosis in the critically ill.
Skin offers easy access, convenience and non-invasiveness for drug delivery and diagnosis. In principle, these advantages of skin appear to be attractive for critically ill patients given potential difficulties that may be associated with oral and parenteral access in these patients. ⋯ Local anaesthetics and analgesics can be delivered through skin and may have wide application in critically ill patients. To ensure accurate information, diagnostic tools require validation in the critically ill patient population as information from other patient populations may not be applicable.
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Nov 2014
ReviewThe challenges of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and extra-corporeal circuits for drug delivery in critically ill patients.
The multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is characterized by more than one organ system failing, especially during critical illness. MODS is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in current ICU practice; moreover, multiple organ dysfunction, especially liver and kidneys, may significantly affect the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of different drugs that are currently administered in critically ill patients. These PK alterations may either result in insufficient drug concentrations to achieve the desired effects or in blood and tissue accumulation, with the development of serious adverse events. ⋯ In this review, we have described the main PK changes occurring in all these conditions and how drug concentrations may potentially be affected. The lack of prospective studies on large cohorts of patients makes impossible any specific recommendation on drug regimen adjustment in ICU patients. Nevertheless, the clinicians should be aware of these abnormalities in order to better understand some unexpected therapeutic issues occurring in such patients.
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Nov 2014
ReviewThe effect of pathophysiology on pharmacokinetics in the critically ill patient--concepts appraised by the example of antimicrobial agents.
Critically ill patients are at high risk for development of life-threatening infection leading to sepsis and multiple organ failure. Adequate antimicrobial therapy is pivotal for optimizing the chances of survival. However, efficient dosing is problematic because pathophysiological changes associated with critical illness impact on pharmacokinetics of mainly hydrophilic antimicrobials. ⋯ Often multiple conditions that may influence pharmacokinetics are present at the same time thereby excessively complicating the prediction of adequate concentrations. In general, conditions leading to underdosing are predominant. Yet, since prediction of serum concentrations remains difficult, therapeutic drug monitoring for individual fine-tuning of antimicrobial therapy seems the way forward.