Update: Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Core Elements

Update: Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Core Elements

This document provides guidance on practical strategies to implement antibiotic stewardship programs in small and critical access hospitals. It was developed as a collaboration between The Centers for Disease Control and... read more

Ketamine: A Drug at War with Itself

Ketamine: A Drug at War with Itself

KETAMINE has always been the odd one out. Like an eccentric uncle who always turns up at the holiday season with a new partner, ketamine has never really comfortably fitted in to simple classifications of anesthetic drugs.... read more

Four ways to reduce dangerous medical errors at your hospital

Four ways to reduce dangerous medical errors at your hospital

It's human nature, everyone makes mistakes. But the consequences of those mistakes can range wildly not only according to their severity, but also depending on who commits them. When a marketer makes a typo on a press release,... read more

Acetaminophen, Among Other Medications, Triggers Drug-Induced Liver Injury

Acetaminophen, Among Other Medications, Triggers Drug-Induced Liver Injury

More than 1,000 medications, with acetaminophen being the most common, have been associated with drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Diagnosis can be challenging due to the multitude of contributing factors, and timely recognition... read more

Sepsis Algorithm a Deadly Marker

Sepsis Algorithm a Deadly Marker

An attempt by a Phoenix, AZ, hospital to develop a marker for deadly sepsis instead found that the algorithm identified patients at an increased risk of dying. Increasingly, algorithms govern daily life, playing an important... read more

Characterizing Hydrogels for use in drug delivery systems

Characterizing Hydrogels for use in drug delivery systems

The delivery of drugs to a precise location at the desired concentration without causing toxic effects to the rest of the body has been a challenge to biomedical science for many years. Although several approaches have been... read more

Alpha blockers more effective for large kidney stones

Alpha blockers more effective for large kidney stones

Researchers report a 57 percent higher risk of stone passage for larger stones with an alpha blocker, but no benefit for smaller stones. Location did not make a difference, nor did type of alpha blocker used.... read more

Drugs Don’t Cut Trastuzumab-Tied Left Ventricular Remodeling

Drugs Don’t Cut Trastuzumab-Tied Left Ventricular Remodeling

The researchers found that the drugs were well tolerated, with no serious adverse events reported. The indexed left ventricular end diastolic volume increased in patients treated with perindopril, bisoprolol, and placebo... read more

Value of Expedited Drug Approvals for Cancer Care

Value of Expedited Drug Approvals for Cancer Care

This study examines potential benefits of cancer drugs approved by the FDA on the basis of surrogate endpoints.... read more

Targeted Drug Delivery using Porous Glass Microspheres

Targeted Drug Delivery using Porous Glass Microspheres

Finding ways to improve efficiency and bioavailability is key to targeted drug delivery. Although controlled release dosage medication forms are the standard, they can have certain limitations.... read more

Study Examines Rates, Causes of ED Visits for Adverse Drug Events

Study Examines Rates, Causes of ED Visits for Adverse Drug Events

The prevalence of emergency department (ED) visits for adverse drug events (ADEs) in the United States was estimated to be four per 1,000 individuals in 2013 and 2014, and the most common drug classes involved were anticoagulants,... read more

New Screening Test Identifies Potential Therapies to Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria

New Screening Test Identifies Potential Therapies to Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Researchers at the NCATS and NIAID have found a new way to identify drugs and drug combinations that may potentially be useful in combating infections that are resistant to antibiotics. The researchers used the test to screen... read more

New discovery paves way for pancreatic cancer treatment

New discovery paves way for pancreatic cancer treatment

Patients suffering from pancreatic cancer may soon face better treatment options due to the latest discovery by Dr. Reginald Hill, who's research focuses on drugs that are already approved by the FDA.... read more

Baxter initiates late-stage study of novel therapy for acute kidney injury

Baxter initiates late-stage study of novel therapy for acute kidney injury

Baxter International commences a Phase 3 clinical trial assessing an investigational drug, Prismocitrate 18, that combines a citrate anticoagulant and renal replacement solution.... read more

FDA Approves Zinplava to Reduce Recurrence of Clostridium difficile Infection in Adult Patients

FDA Approves Zinplava to Reduce Recurrence of Clostridium difficile Infection in Adult Patients

FDA Approves Merck's ZINPLAVA (bezlotoxumab) to Reduce Recurrence of Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) in Adult Patients Receiving Antibacterial Drug Treatment for CDI Who Are at High Risk of CDI Recurrence.... read more

Cefiderocol, A Novel Investigational Siderophore Cephalosporin, Demonstrated Potent Activity Against Multi-Drug Resistant Gram-Negative Pathogens

Cefiderocol, A Novel Investigational Siderophore Cephalosporin, Demonstrated Potent Activity Against Multi-Drug Resistant Gram-Negative Pathogens

Cefiderocol showed potent activity against Gram-negative pathogens, including carbapenem-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii as well as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The results... read more