In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, antifungal overuse may have occurred in our hospitals as it has been previously reported for antibacterials.
To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on antifungal ...consumption, a multicenter retrospective study including four medical sites and 14 intensive care units (ICU) was performed. Antifungal consumption and incidences of invasive fungal diseases before and during COVID-19 pandemic, for non-COVID-19 patients and COVID-19 patients, were described.
An increase in voriconazole consumption was observed in 2020 compared with 2019 for both the whole hospital and the ICU (+ 40.3% and + 63.7%, respectively), whereas the incidence of invasive aspergillosis significantly increased in slightly lower proportions in the ICU (+ 46%). Caspofungin consumption also increased in 2020 compared to 2019 for both the whole hospital and the ICU (+ 34.9% and + 17.0%, respectively) with an increased incidence of invasive candidiasis in the whole hospital and the ICU but in lower proportions (+ 20.0% and + 10.9%, respectively).
We observed an increased consumption of antifungals including voriconazole and caspofungin in our hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic and explained in part by an increased incidence of invasive fungal diseases in COVID-19 patients. These results are of utmost importance as it raises concern about the urgent need for appropriate antifungal stewardship activities to control antifungal consumption.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international medical product supply chain was tight, causing breaks in the availability of neuromuscular blocking agents essential for the ...treatment of patients in intensive care units. The present study describes the pharmaceutical development of an injectable 2 mg/mL solution of pancuronium bromide (PC) in a very short lapse of time. The sterile solution was compounded into a good manufacturing practice grade A clean room, filtered (0.2 µm) and filled into 10 mL type I glass, manually sealed with bromobutyl rubber stoppers. A novel HPLC-MS stability indicating method for pancuronium quantification and its degradation product was developed and validated. This fast, sensitive and straightforward method was used to study the stability of the formulation using a semi-predictive method, enabling a very fast attribution of a temporary shelf-life, which was confirmed by a classic prospective stability study. The production line and the analytical tools set-up were performed in six weeks and the semi-predictive stability study was conducted in 90 days, allowing us to predict a shelf life, which was successfully confirmed by prospective study. In conclusion, using innovative methods, we were able to rapidly overcome the shortage of a critical drug.
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This phase I/II study was designed to demonstrate the tolerance and the efficacy of a combination of pegylated interferon-α 2a to Imatinib mesylate (IM) 600mg daily in cytogenetically IM-resistant ...but in CHR chronic phase CML patients. The combination was generally well tolerated in the 15 evaluable patients. A significant reduction of the Ph1(+) BM metaphases was observed in these poor prognosis patients, with 2 long-term CCyR including 2 MMR. After a median follow-up of 43 months, 93% of patients are alive. The addition of PegIFNα2a to IM600 is feasible, and able to overcome resistance within this context.
Due to staffing constraints, several hospitals have defined targeting strategies for pharmacist-led medication order review, leaving non-targeted patients exposed to potential harmful drug-related ...problems (DRPs). Using targeting criteria to stratify medication order review level (level 1 (L1): orders, basic patient characteristics; level 2 (L2) or comprehensive medication order review: orders, patient characteristics, medical records, laboratory results) could make it possible to save time and increase the overall number of medication order reviews. This study aims to define targeting criteria to stratify medication order review level and estimate the time saved for the performance of additional medication order reviews.
This retrospective single-centre study included all medication order reviews performed in 2020; DRPs were collected to assess the medication order review level required to detect them. Logistic regressions were performed to define patient characteristics associated with L2. These targeting criteria were applied to the cohort to estimate the time saved and the number of additional medication order reviews which could have been performed using this approach.
2478 DRPs were reported; 54.2% (1343/2748) could have been detected using an L1 medication order review (representing 48.2% of the patients (829/1721)). L2 medication order reviews were significantly associated with age ≥65 years, male, and renal clearance <60 mL/min (OR
=1.79; OR
=1.74; OR
=0.74; OR
=1.67; OR
=2.62; p<0.05). Sex being a confounding factor, only age and renal clearance were used as targeting criteria. The time saved was estimated at 274 hours per year, leading to an additional 1720 medication order reviews (54 hospital beds).
The proposed approach would maintain a satisfying level of safety and quality for patients, by performing an L2 medication order review for targeted patients based on age and renal clearance, while improving medication order review coverage with an L1 medication order review for non-targeted patients, using the available workforce.
Confusion regarding the identification of medicines by patients, physicians and pharmacists is a major concern. Here, we detail the successful identification of unlabelled medicine from a new tool ...named Medicine Identification New Database (MIND) implemented in our hospital pharmacy. Web tools (drugs.com, WebMD, Google Lens) and MIND were used for identification of an unlabelled unitary (single tablet/capsule) medicine returned from the care unit. MIND combines three modules including organoleptic (form, shape, colour), physical (dimensions, mass) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectra of oral medicines. While the web tools failed to identify unlabelled the unitary medicine properly, MIND discriminated the pharmaceutical product and confirmed, from infrared spectroscopy, the real identity of the medication and major excipients. The simplicity of the approach combined with the accuracy of the physical and spectral characterisation confirmed the potential of MIND as suitable tool for quick, simple and accurate identification of unlabelled medication in hospital pharmacies.
This report describes a 74-year-old male with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). However surgical procedure is the only curative treatment, it often seems to be ineffective because ...of the aggressive behaviour of the disease. The role of systemic chemotherapy in the ICC is undefined with a median survival between 6.43 to 12.17 months obtained by using the combination chemotherapy of gemcitabine with cisplatin. In the present case, we performed a targeted treatment using drug eluting beads (DEB) with irinotecan (IRI) administered as transarterial-chemoembolization (TACE). After one session, the tumour vascularity decreased significantly at the one month evaluation on computed tomography (CT) scan of the liver. This case report suggested that minimally invasive transcatheter DEB embolization could be a promising, safe and effective treatment for selective patients with unresectable ICC.
This study aims at evaluating fluconazole exposure in critically ill patients and identifying variables associated with the latter.
This was a 2-year (2018-2019) retrospective multicenter cohort ...study. Adult patients > 18 years-old with at least one fluconazole concentration measurement during their ICU stay were included.
Twenty patients were included. Only 11 patients had a fluconazole trough concentration (Cmin) within the target range (≥15 mg/L). According to bivariable analysis, SOFA score, GGT, fluconazole clearance, Ke, and Vd, were independently associated with a decrease in fluconazole Cmin. The median loading dose required to achieve the Cmin target appeared to be greater in patients with higher SOFA or GGT level and in patients undergoing renal replacement therapy.
This study supports recommendation for routine fluconazole therapeutic drug monitoring in ICU patients so as to avoid underexposure, especially if SOFA score is ≥ 7 and/or GGT is ≥ 100 U/L.
Beyond the usual regimens based on streptozocin and doxorubicin or 5-fluorouracil, no second-line therapy of metastatic neuroendocrine tumor has gained wide acceptance. Gemcitabine and oxaliplatin ...are generally well tolerated and have shown activity against a wide range of malignancies. The authors assessed the efficacy of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin combination (GEMOX) in the treatment of patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Twenty consecutive patients with progressive disease were treated with GEMOX, in most cases after failure of other chemotherapy regimens (median=2). Patients were followed for evidence of toxicity, response, and survival. Two patients were chemotherapy-naive at treatment initiation and were excluded from the efficacy analysis.
Toxicity was manageable overall; however, 6 (30%) patients had to discontinue treatment because of oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity (grade 2). Three (17%) of 18 patients had a partial response, median progression-free survival was 7.0 months, and median overall survival was 23.4 months.
Gemcitabine-oxaliplatin combination shows interesting activity and is well tolerated in pretreated patients with neuroendocrine tumors.
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