The Annals of pharmacotherapy
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To review the literature regarding false-positive urine opiate screens associated with the use of fluoroquinolones. ⋯ Fluoroquinolones can cause false-positive urine opiate screens. Clinicians should be aware of this potential interaction and may need to verify positive results.
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Comparative Study
Clinical and economic analysis of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.
The rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has increased significantly over the last decade. Previous cohort studies of patients with MRSA bacteremia have reported higher mortality rates, increased morbidity, longer hospital length of stay (LOS), and higher costs compared with patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) bacteremia. The clinical and economic impact of MRSA involving other sites of infection has not been well characterized. ⋯ Patients with MRSA infections had worse clinical and economic outcomes compared with patients with MSSA infections.
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Review Comparative Study
Reducing clinically significant gastrointestinal toxicity associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.
To evaluate the efficacy of treatment strategies to reduce clinically significant gastrointestinal adverse effects associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). ⋯ COX-2 inhibitors and proton-pump inhibitors are effective and well-tolerated therapies to reduce clinically significant upper gastrointestinal adverse events associated with NSAIDs.
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Research in statistical methods is essential for maintenance of high quality of the published literature. ⋯ Statistical terms and procedures were found in nearly all of the research articles published in pharmacy journals. Thus, pharmacy education should aim to provide current and future pharmacists with an understanding of the common statistical terms and procedures identified to facilitate the appropriate appraisal and consequential utilization of the information available in research articles.
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The increasing antimicrobial resistance of common respiratory pathogens has led to a reevaluation of the selection of antimicrobial dosing regimens in terms of their pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties. Pharmacokinetics, when considered as part of a specific dosing regimen, can help determine the time course of drug concentrations in the serum, tissues, body fluids, and at the site of infection. Pharmacodynamics provides surrogate markers for clinical and bacteriologic efficacy based on the relationships between the serum and tissue concentrations of selected antimicrobial agents relative to the mean inhibitory concentrations of causative bacteria over time. ⋯ Various antibiotics and bacterial pathogens are used as models to demonstrate the utility of PK/PD parameters in predicting the in vivo efficacy of antimicrobial therapy. The use of computer modeling with Monte Carlo population simulations can further enhance the predictability of antimicrobial efficacy when using PK/PD parameters. This article also provides a reevaluation of bacterial susceptibility breakpoints defined by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards contrasted with the use of PK/PD parameters.