Using a nursing-workload index to validate hospital pharmacy productivity.

The use of a nursing-workload-index indicator generated by the Medicus patient classification system was explored as a means of simplifying and validating a manual pharmacy-workload-reporting system. The pharmacy department of this 290-bed hospital monitors 14 activities in its productivity-measurement process. In an effort to validate this process, a 20-week study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the nursing-workload-index data and the number of hours required to provide pharmaceutical services. Number of patient days and the nursing index were compared with respect to their reliability in predicting pharmacy workload. A significant correlation was found between the nursing index and the number of hours earned for pharmacy activities (with or without hours earned for processing admissions and discharges). Significant correlations were also found when the patient-days indicator was used, but those relationships were not as strong. The nursing-workload-index indicator studied was useful in validating the workload data generated by the pharmacy department.

Intravenous ampicillin pharmacokinetics in the third trimester of pregnancy.

The pharmacokinetics of a single dose of intravenous ampicillin were studied in nine patients during their third trimester of pregnancy. Each volunteer was given either 500 mg (5.7-8.8 mg/kg) or 1 g (15.4-21.4 mg/kg) of sodium ampicillin by rapid infusion. Postinfusion plasma concentration-time curves followed biexponential decay in all subjects. Calculated parameters included a mean plasma distribution volume of 177.1 +/- 97.5 ml/kg, tissue or peripheral distribution volume of 246.2 +/- 143.9 ml/kg, elimination half-life of 1.60 +/- 0.51 h, and total body clearance of 4.59 +/- 1.48 ml/min/kg. Dose-dependent disposition was not observed. Gestation-specific drug therapy research during pregnancy is discussed.