We randomized 18 critically ill patients to receive ceftazidime 6 g/day by continuous infusion or bolus dosing (2 g 8 hourly), each with a loading dose of 12 mg/kg ceftazidime. During the first 8 h, plasma ceftazidime concentration fell below 40 mg/L in only one patient (trough 38 mg/L) from the infusion group, compared with eight from the bolus group (2-33 mg/L) for periods ranging from 73 to ...

BACKGROUND Increasing evidence suggests that ABPM more closely predicts target organ damage than does clinic measurement. Future guidelines may suggest ABPM as routine in the diagnosis and monitoring of hypertension. This would create difficulties as this test is expensive and often difficult to obtain. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which the BpTRU automatic blood pres...

What is a standard of care? Who defines standard of care? And when does new technology, such as continuous in-line blood gas monitoring (CILBGM), become a standard of care? Perhaps the most productive and practical way to view standards of care in perfusion is as, "the best perfusion management we can provide for our patients within reason and affordability." Today, CILBGM offers a tangible pat...

OBJECTIVE A systematic literature search and review of the best evidence for intensive care treatment of refractory status epilepticus in children using continuous infusion of midazolam or anesthetic agents. DESIGN MEDLINE and EMBASE search before December 2013 using key words and/or Medical Subject Headings identified English-language citations that were screened for eligibility and used if ...

provided the original work is properly cited. CC Propofol is a hypnotic agent that is widely used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia and sedation in critically ill patients. Its properties of fast action and fast recovery allows for frequent neurological evaluations and assessments during sedation in the intensive care unit (ICU). Here, we report 3 cases of green discolorat...

Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) readings predict the increased risks of cardiovascular events and end-organ damage independent of office blood pressure (BP). Numeracy (the ability to handle numbers) may limit the feasibility of patients' performing HBPM. The authors analyzed data from 409 adults recruited from 12 North Carolina primary care clinics who completed a three-item numeracy asse...

BACKGROUND Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has been described as an effective method for the diagnosis and formulation of the treatment of hypertension by the primary care physician. METHODS Sixty patients selected from a suburban private primary care practice participated in a study that compared measurements of office blood pressures using a mercury sphygmomanometer with the sam...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of web-based care management on glucose and blood pressure control over 12 months in patients with poorly controlled diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS For this study, 104 patients with diabetes and HbA(1c) (A1C) > or =9.0% who received their care at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center were recruited. All participants completed a diabetes educati...

Blood pressure is probably the most common measurement used in clinical practice and the most common reason for initiation of long term treatment. Recent guidelines for the use of ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure recommend its use in both initial diagnosis (before starting treatment) and assessing control. If ambulatory monitoring is to be used more often we need evidence about its accep...

AIMS To characterise the first infants receiving continuous Kangaroo Mother Care from birth to discharge in a Swedish neonatal intensive care unit and to investigate their mothers' experiences of this model of care. BACKGROUND Admission of a newborn infant to a neonatal intensive care unit commonly implies separation of the new mother from her infant. Kangaroo Mother Care is a model of neonat...