Impact of a Pharmacist-Driven Medication Diluent Volume Optimization Protocol on Fluid Balance and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients.

Background: Volume overload (VO) is common in the intensive care unit (ICU) and associated with negative outcomes. Approaches have been investigated to curtail VO; however, none specifically focused on medication diluent volume optimization. Objective: Investigate the impact of a pharmacist-driven medication diluent volume optimization protocol on fluid balance in critically ill patients. Methods: A prospective, pilot study was conducted in a medical ICU during October 2021 to December 2021 (pre) and February 2022 to April 2022 (post). A pharmacist-driven medication diluent volume optimization protocol focusing on vasopressor and antimicrobial diluent volumes was implemented. Demographics and clinical data were collected during ICU admission up to 7 days. The primary outcome was net fluid balance on day 3. Secondary outcomes were medication volumes administered, net fluid balance, ICU length of stay, and mortality. Results: Supply chain shortages caused the study to stop at the end of February 2022. Overall, 152 patients were included (123 pre group, 29 post group). The most common admission diagnosis was acute respiratory failure (35%). Vasopressors and antimicrobials were utilized in 47% and 66% of patients, respectively. Net fluid balance on day 3 was greater but not significant in the post group (227.1 mL [-1840.3 to 3483.7] vs 2012.3 mL [-2686.0 to 4846.0]; P = .584). Antimicrobial diluent volumes were significantly less in the post group. No differences were seen in other secondary outcomes. Protocol group assignment was not associated with net fluid balance on day 3. Conclusion: Despite decreasing antimicrobial volume contributions, optimizing diluent volumes alone did not significantly impact overall volume status. Future studies should focus on comprehensive approaches to medication diluent optimization and fluid stewardship.

The Role of a Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Rotation within Postgraduate Year Two Critical Care Residency Training.

Introduction: The job of a critical care pharmacy specialist has evolved to include quality improvement and administrative tasks. As such, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) highlights specific goals and objectives to ensure post-graduate year two (PGY2) critical care residents are sufficiently trained to perform these tasks. The PGY2 critical care pharmacy residency leadership at the University of Kentucky sought to develop a four-week learning experience entitled, "Critical Care Administration / Medication Use Quality & Outcomes," as a unique rotation to capture these requirements and activities. Objectives: The focus of this commentary is to serve as a guide for other residency programs to develop such a rotation, highlight resulting resident contributions to the department, describe perceived benefits of this rotation for residents, and highlight how this rotation impacted graduated residents' early years as practitioners. Conclusions: This learning experience is pivotal to providing a more balanced view of the entire medication use process and the healthcare ecosystem during a specialty residency. PGY2 critical care residents can gain valuable experiences away from the bedside that better prepare them for future tasks in addition to patient care that will be expected of them as clinical pharmacists.

Efficacy and safety of alvimopan use in benign urinary tract reconstruction.

PURPOSE: To analyze the use of alvimopan, a peripheral mu-opioid receptor antagonist, in expediting gastrointestinal recovery after benign abdominal urinary tract reconstruction. Alvimopan use has been well defined in the management of radical cystectomy and urinary diversion for oncologic indications. It has not been studied in benign abdominal genitourinary reconstruction. METHODS: Patients who underwent urinary reconstruction utilizing harvested bowel segments for benign conditions from 12/2014-7/2019 were retrospectively reviewed. From 5/2018-7/2019 our institution approved the use of perioperative alvimopan in the aforementioned patients (N = 11), who were paired 1:2 with patients from a cohort of alvimopan-eligible patients who did not receive the drug (N = 22). Patients were paired by (1) type of reconstruction and (2) presence of neurogenic bowel-bladder (NBB). RESULTS: Of the 70 patients who underwent urinary reconstruction during the study period, 46 patients (66%) were eligible to receive alvimopan. Length of stay was shorter for the alvimopan group compared to the non-alvimopan group (median 5 days [IQR 4-5 days] vs. 8 days [IQR 6-11 days]; P = 0.002). Time to first bowel movement was shorter for the alvimopan group (median 4 days [IQR 3-4 days] vs. 6 days [IQR 4-7], P = 0.001). No patient treated with alvimopan required a nasogastric (NG) tube for post-operative ileus compared to 7 (32%) patients in the non-treatment group (P = 0.035). Post-operative complications and 30-day readmissions were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The use of perioperative alvimopan in benign abdominal urinary tract reconstruction expedited return of bowel function and decreased length of stay compared to a matched cohort of untreated patients.

Rapid Inpatient Titration of Intravenous Treprostinil for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Safe and Tolerable.

There is no standard protocol for intravenous treprostinil dose escalation. In most cases, slow up-titration is performed in the outpatient setting. However, rapid up-titration in an inpatient setting is an alternative that provides opportunity for aggressive treatment of common side effects experienced during dose escalation. In this study, we describe our experience with inpatient rapid up-titration of intravenous treprostinil. This was a single-center, retrospective study in which we reviewed the data of subjects with pulmonary arterial hypertension treated at our center who underwent inpatient rapid up-titration of intravenous treprostinil. Our treprostinil dose escalation protocol included initiation at 2 ng·kg·min with subsequent up-titration by 1 ng·kg·min every 6 to 8 hours as tolerated by side effects. A total of 16 subjects were identified. Thirteen subjects were treprostinil naive (naive group), and 3 subjects were receiving subcutaneous treprostinil but were hospitalized for further intravenous up-titration of treprostinil dose (nonnaive group). In the naive group, the median maximum dose achieved was 20 ng·kg·min with an interquartile range (IQR) of 20-23 ng·kg·min. The median up-titration interval was 6 days (IQR: 4-9). In the nonnaive group, the median maximum dose achieved was 20 ng·kg·min (range: 17-30). The median up-titration interval was 8.5 days (range: 1.5-11). Overall, the median maximum dose achieved was 20 ng·kg·min (IQR: 20-23.5), and the median up-titration interval was 6 days (IQR: 4.6-9.25), with no reported significant adverse hemodynamic events. In patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, rapid inpatient titration of intravenous treprostinil is safe and tolerable.

Management Strategies for Clopidogrel Hypersensitivity.

Clopidogrel is a cornerstone of dual antiplatelet therapy. Hypersensitivity reactions potentially limit the use of this treatment and present a significant clinical challenge. The authors have developed recommendations for the management of clopidogrel hypersensitivity with consideration for the etiology, pathophysiology, and critical evaluation of potential management strategies. The clopidogrel hypersensitivity reaction is complex in mechanism and presents generally around day 5 of treatment. Generalized reactions are most common, but the reaction may also be localized or systemic. Screening patients for hypersensitivity is not always possible because the type IV delayed reaction is not detected reliably by conventional skin prick, intradermal challenge, or patch testing. Proposed strategies for management of clopidogrel hypersensitivity include treatment of the reaction with corticosteroids, clopidogrel desensitization, substituting an alternative P2Y12 inhibitor, or clopidogrel avoidance. The safety, efficacy, and cost of each potential strategy must be considered when managing a patient with clopidogrel hypersensitivity.

Pathophysiology, treatment, and prevention of fluid and electrolyte abnormalities during refeeding syndrome.

Refeeding syndrome may occur after the reintroduction of carbohydrates in chronically malnourished or acutely hypermetabolic patients as a result of a rapid shift to glucose utilization as an energy source. Electrolyte abnormalities of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium occur, leading to complications of various organ systems, and may result in death. Patients should be screened for risk factors of malnutrition to prevent refeeding syndrome. For those at risk, nutrition should be initiated and slowly advanced toward the patient's goal over several days. Electrolyte disturbances should be aggressively corrected.

A clinical-laboratory algorithm incorporating optical density value to predict heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

The diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is complex and involves integrating both clinical and laboratory findings. Readily available diagnostic tests such as the heparin-dependant antibody assay (HDAA) lack desired specificity when utilised alone. A diagnostic algorithm incorporating the 4T pretest probability score, HDAA, and optical density (OD) value was implemented as a tool to assist in the diagnosis of HIT and with the decision to treat patients. Patients with a 4T score >3 and/or positive HDAA result with an OD ≥1 were considered positive. Utilisation of this algorithm was hypothesised to improve the identification of patients without SRA confirmed HIT and improve overall specificity compared to other diagnostic strategies. Retrospective chart review was conducted and included patients with a positive or equivocal HDAA result and a serotonin release assay result during a two-year period. Each patient was evaluated for the diagnosis of HIT using the algorithm. The specificity and sensitivity of the diagnostic algorithm to identify subjects with SRA confirmed HIT was evaluated. A total of 83 patients were identified for inclusion in the study. The diagnostic algorithm identified 22 patients for direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI) therapy. Nine of these patients were SRA positive. The sensitivity of the algorithm was 0.9 with a specificity of 0.822. The diagnostic algorithm was found to be both more specific and sensitive than other diagnostic strategies including the 4T score alone, HDAA alone, and the combination of the 4T score and HDAA results. This preliminary data suggest a diagnostic algorithm combining 4T score, HDAA, and OD value may be a tool to aid in the identification SRA positive patients for DTI therapy.

Risk factors, prevention, and treatment of corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis in adults.

An orthopedist can play a critical role in corticosteroid induced osteoporosis management by identifying at-risk patients and selecting appropriate prophylactic measures. This article is part two in a two-part series on osteoporosis. Part one appeared in the July 2008 issue of ORTHOPEDICS.