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Biomedical subjects

J C Garrelts

Publications and source records attributed to J C Garrelts.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Clofazimine: a review of its use in leprosy and Mycobacterium avium complex infection.

This article reviews the chemistry, pharmacology, spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy in leprosy and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection, adverse effects, drug interactions, and special considerations of clofazimine. The drug is active in vivo against M. leprae and in vitro against MAC. In addition, it possesses antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. Clinical studies support the efficacy of clofazimine as a part of multidrug therapy in treating leprosy. It also appears to reduce the incidence and severity of erythema nodosum leprosum reactions that often occur during the treatment of leprosy. Efficacy in treating MAC infection in patients with AIDS is not well documented, despite the use of clofazimine in combination with other agents. A few patients have responded symptomatically and by clearing their mycobacteremia, although there is no evidence that mortality is reduced. Clofazimine is well tolerated, at least when doses less than or equal to 100 mg/d are used. Adverse reactions include discoloration of the skin, self-limiting gastrointestinal intolerance, severe and life-threatening abdominal pain and organ damage due to clofazimine crystal deposition, and asymptomatic discoloration of the eye. Clofazimine should be considered for formulary inclusion.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Sucralfate significantly reduces ciprofloxacin concentrations in serum.

The effect of sucralfate on the bioavailability of ciprofloxacin was evaluated in eight healthy subjects utilizing a randomized, crossover design. The area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 12 h was reduced from 8.8 to 1.1 micrograms.h/ml by sucralfate (P less than 0.005). Similarly, the maximum concentration of ciprofloxacin in serum was reduced from 2.0 to 0.2 micrograms/ml (P less than 0.005). We conclude that concurrent ingestion of sucralfate significantly reduces the concentrations in serum produced by a 500-mg dose of ciprofloxacin. On the basis of these findings, ciprofloxacin and sucralfate should not be administered concurrently.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Fluosol: an oxygen-delivery fluid for use in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

Fluosol (20% intravascular perfluorochemical emulsion) is an oxygen-carrying emulsion used to deliver oxygen to ischemic myocardium during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Fluosol is composed of two perfluorochemicals, perfluorodecalin and perfluorotripropylamine. It has a high capacity for oxygen solubility, a low viscosity, and a small particle size. Following administration, the perfluorochemicals in fluosol are not metabolized. Rather, most are expired as gaseous particles through the lungs; the remainder are taken up by the organs of the reticuloendothelial system and later expired. When administered during balloon inflation in PTCA, fluosol preserves ventricular wall motion and global left ventricular ejection fraction. In addition, it minimizes ST segment changes and preserves cardiac output. Fluosol may be especially useful in patients who have poor contractile reserve, multivessel disease, or serious underlying illness. Other uses under investigation include limitation of myocardial infarct size and chemosensitization or radiosensitization of malignant tumors. Adverse effects secondary to the use of fluosol include ventricular arrhythmias, pruritus, bradycardia, chest pain, dyspnea, and increased respiratory rate. Fluosol must be thawed, admixed, warmed to body temperature, and oxygenated prior to intracoronary administration. The usual administration rate is 60 mL/min during each balloon inflation.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗
PubMed1990

Clinical services provided by staff pharmacists in a community hospital.

A program for developing staff pharmacists' clinical skills and documenting pharmacists' clinical interventions in a large community teaching hospital is described. A coordinator hired in 1984 to develop clinical pharmacy services began a didactic and experiential program for baccalaureate-level staff pharmacists. Fourteen educational modules are supplemented by journal and textbook articles and small-group discussions of clinical cases, and the clinical coordinator provides individual training on the patient-care units for each pharmacist. Monitoring of clinical pharmacy services began in June 1987; each intervention provided by a pharmacist is recorded on a specially designed form. A target-drug program is used to document cost avoidance achieved through clinical services. Information collected through these monitoring activities is used to educate the pharmacy staff, shared with the pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and used to monitor prescribing patterns of individual physicians. The data are used in the hospital's productivity-monitoring system. All pharmacists who were on staff in 1984 have completed the educational modules, and all new employees are in the process. Since monitoring began, the number of clinical interventions has averaged 2098 per month. Cost avoidance has averaged $9306 per month. Over a five-year period, the development of staff pharmacists' clinical services raised the level of professional practice, produced substantial cost avoidance, and increased the number of pharmacist interventions in medication use.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1989

Magnesium toxicity secondary to catharsis during management of theophylline poisoning.

Multiple doses of oral activated charcoal are used increasingly to promote elimination of toxins that have already reached the bloodstream; this is often referred to as gastrointestinal dialysis. Cathartics usually are used in conjunction to hasten transit of the charcoal-adsorbed toxin. In the present case, a regimen of activated charcoal and magnesium citrate was used to treat a patient with theophylline poisoning. It was effective in lowering the patient's serum theophylline concentration but produced an elevated magnesium level associated with decreased responsiveness, confusion, and diminished deep tendon reflexes. Magnesium citrate may not be the optimal cathartic for use in gastrointestinal dialysis, at least in selected patients. Sorbitol has been shown to produce a more rapid catharsis without disturbing magnesium serum concentrations. Therefore, the use of sorbitol in place of magnesium citrate, at least in selected patients, may be preferred.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Comparison of heparin and 0.9% sodium chloride injection in the maintenance of indwelling intermittent i.v. devices.

Heparin sodium 10 units/mL was compared with 0.9% sodium chloride injection as a flush solution for indwelling intermittent i.v. devices, or i.v. locks (IVLs), in a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. The heparin and 0.9% sodium chloride injections were prepared in the pharmacy using aseptic technique. Most of the IVLs were inserted by an i.v. therapy team member. Each patient's IVL site was evaluated for phlebitis and patency by one of three study nurses, and when a catheter was removed, its contents were flushed so that clots or fibrin strands could be detected. Nurses also collected information regarding disease states, surgical procedures, medications administered, and how long each site lasted. A total of 173 sites were studied in 76 patients in the heparin group, and 131 sites were studied in 71 patients in the sodium chloride group. The groups were well matched, except that the sodium chloride group received more vancomycin and dextrose-containing i.v. solutions, while the heparin group received more penicillins. There was no significant difference in the incidence of phlebitis or lost patency between the groups. When locks through which vancomycin, penicillins, and dextrose-containing i.v. solutions were administered were excluded, there was still no significant difference between the groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Altered vancomycin dose vs. serum concentration relationship in burn patients.

Drug elimination in patients sustaining serious thermal injury may be altered, resulting in an increased clearance and shortened half-life. Nine burn and eight medical/surgical patients with normal renal function were studied prospectively. Doses were adjusted to achieve peak and trough vancomycin serum concentrations within a narrow range. No significant difference between the groups was noted in terms of demographic characteristics, creatinine clearance, or vancomycin serum concentrations. However, the difference in daily dose needed to maintain the specified serum concentrations was significantly greater for burn patients (p less than 0.02). Burn patients also had to be dosed significantly more often than medical/surgical patients to achieve peak and trough vancomycin serum concentrations within the desired range (p less than 0.02). The elimination half-life in burn patients was significantly shorter than that in control patients (p less than 0.001). Because of the unusually high dosage requirements in burn patients, along with their poor predictability, individualization of therapy with vancomycin serum concentrations is recommended to ensure a successful therapeutic outcome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of a Bayesian program with three microcomputer programs for predicting gentamicin concentrations.

A recently developed Bayesian regression program was compared with three other aminoglycoside pharmacokinetic dosing programs available for clinical use. From 30 adult patients, 152 measured serum gentamicin concentrations (SGC) were evaluated retrospectively (78 peak and 74 trough). Predictive performance was compared for each method by using the first peak and trough SGC pair to predict subsequent serum concentrations, making a total of 92 predictions (48 peak and 44 trough). The two Bayesian programs (Brater and Koup) were further evaluated using only one initial peak or trough SGC to make the same predictions. Mean predicted error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean squared error (RMSE) were calculated for each method. Prediction bias and precision were compared statistically, between each method, by calculating the 95% confidence intervals for the delta ME and delta MAE, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found in the MAEs among any of the methods for predicting peak SGCs, with the exception of the Brater program, using a single trough SGC, which was statistically less precise (less than 0.05). There were few statistically significant differences in the MAEs for trough SGCs; however, Koup's Bayesian program using a single trough concentration yielded statistically more precise predictions than the other methods. The ME was found to differ significantly (p less than 0.05) among estimates for peak and trough SGCs provided by some of the predictive methods.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Postinfusion phlebitis after intravenous push versus intravenous piggyback administration of antimicrobial agents.

The incidence and severity of phlebitis associated with the i.v. push method versus the i.v. piggyback method of administration of antimicrobial agents were evaluated. All patients admitted to two nursing units of an 886-bed, tertiary-care hospital from March through June 1987 who received intravenous cephalosporins or extended-spectrum penicillins were considered for inclusion in the study. The method of administration, either i.v. push or i.v. piggyback, was randomly assigned. Each patient's catheter site was evaluated every 24 hours according to standardized definitions of phlebitis and patency. Information on each patient and venipuncture site also was collected. A total of 319 catheter sites were studied in 155 patients. There was no significant difference in the incidence or severity of postinfusion phlebitis between the i.v. push and the i.v. piggyback groups (41% versus 47%). When studying only those catheter sites discontinued because of phlebitis, the time until development of phlebitis averaged 45 +/- 20.5 hours in the i.v. push group, compared with only 36.2 +/- 17.6 hours in the i.v. piggyback group; this difference was significant. The fact that the catheter sites lasted significantly longer in the i.v. push group, combined with elimination of the cost of syringe infusion pumps or i.v. tubing and minibags, suggests that use of the i.v. push method may result in substantial cost savings. Other advantages associated with the i.v. push method include time savings for nursing personnel and patients and greater ease in scheduling doses of multiple antimicrobial agents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Accuracy of Bayesian, Sawchuk-Zaske, and nomogram dosing methods for vancomycin.

The predictive performance of a Bayesian method for vancomycin dosing was compared with that of two nomogram-based methods and the Sawchuk-Zaske method. Prospectively collected serum concentration data were evaluated retrospectively in patients who had at least two steady-state peak and trough serum vancomycin concentrations obtained during two different dosage regimens. The methods evaluated were a Bayesian program that uses a one-compartment weighted-sum-of-squares expression; the nomogram methods of Moellering and Matzke, which derive vancomycin clearance from urinary creatinine clearance; and the Sawchuk-Zaske method, which uses equations for one-compartment, first-order elimination. The ability of each method to predict the second set of serum concentrations when given the first set of concentrations was evaluated using mean prediction error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean squared error (RMSE). To compare the predictions made by each of the four methods, the differences in mean error and the differences in the natural logarithm of mean absolute error and their 95% confidence intervals were compared. No significant difference in ME (bias) or MAE (precision) was found between the Moellering and Matzke methods. The Sawchuk-Zaske method was significantly more precise than the Matzke method in predicting peak serum concentrations and more precise than the Moellering or Matzke method in predicting trough concentrations. The Bayesian program was significantly more precise and less biased than the Moellering and Matzke methods and less biased than the Sawchuk-Zaske method in predicting both peak and trough concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗