G L Frost | PubMed Health

PubMed1993

Costing services: comparing three i.v. medication systems.

Three methods of intermittent intravenous (IV) medication delivery were studied for evidence of cost effectiveness. Eighty-five patients receiving antibiotics on two general medicine units were examined over an eight-week period. Chi square analysis revealed no significant differences in the number of IV complications among the three delivery systems. ANOVA revealed no significant differences among the three systems. A cost savings of $99.70 per patient using the Bard system and $98.60 using the BD system was realized. Thirty-six (88%) of the nurses preferred a syringe pump system, 10 patients showed no strong preference for any of the methods, and the two pharmacists preferred a syringe delivery system.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Subcutaneous epinephrine vs. nebulized metaproterenol in acute asthma.

The efficacy and side effects of subcutaneous epinephrine (E) and aerosolized metaproterenol (M) were compared in acute asthma. Adults randomly received E 0.3 mg sub-Q q20min (max 0.9 mg; n = 20) or M 15 mg in 3.0 ml NaCl 0.9% nebulized over 10 minutes (n = 20) in a double-blind fashion. Vital signs and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were measured every ten minutes for one hour. The two groups were comparable in age, weight, baseline theophylline concentration, PEFR, heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. PEFR improved in both groups within ten minutes (p less than 0.01; analysis of variance). There was no difference in PEFR between the groups over the one-hour observation period following treatment. Heart rate decreased following treatment in M patients (p less than 0.05), but remained unchanged in E patients. Systolic blood pressure rose slightly in E patients (p less than 0.01), but remained unchanged in M patients. Subcutaneous E and nebulized M are equally effective as initial therapy in acute asthma.

Acute Disease↗