Comparison of Weight-Based Valproic Acid Dosing in Treatment of Mental Illness Among Obese and Nonobese Patients.

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: A weight-based dosing approach of 20-30 mg/kg per day of valproic acid (VPA) has been shown to achieve rapid attainment of mood symptom control. Due to interindividual pharmacokinetic variability, therapeutic drug monitoring may be a useful tool to avoid VPA toxicity. Limited research exists on the impact of patient body weight on VPA pharmacokinetic profiles. This analysis aims to explore the correlation between steady-state serum levels of VPA and weight-based dosing strategies, including total body weight (TBW), ideal body weight (IBW), and adjusted body weight (AdjBW), between obese and nonobese patients. METHODS/PROCEDURES: This single-center, retrospective, observational cohort analysis evaluated weight-based dosing of VPA in obese and nonobese patients admitted to inpatient psychiatry at a large academic medical center between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2022. FINDINGS/RESULTS: This analysis included 93 obese and 93 nonobese patients. No significant difference in median VPA serum concentrations was observed between groups ( P = 0.82). However, the obese group received a lower median weight-based dose (15.6 mg/kg) compared with the nonobese group (19.5 mg/kg, P < 0.001). A stronger correlation was found between VPA dose and therapeutic serum levels in the obese group compared with the nonobese group regardless of weight-based dosing strategy. Dosing with AdjBW in obese patients most closely approximated dosing with TBW in nonobese patients. IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: In obese patients, our analysis suggests dosing VPA using AdjBW may be considered as the preferred dosing strategy over IBW or TBW to minimize toxicity risk. Further research is needed with larger sample sizes and diverse patient populations to confirm these findings.

Test of Times New Roman: effects of font type on mathematical performance.

Mathematics is presented in a variety of font types across materials (e.g., textbooks, online problems); however, little is known about the effects of font type on students' mathematical performance. Undergraduate students (N = 121) completed three mathematical tasks in a one-hour online session in one of three font conditions: Times New Roman (n = 45), Kalam (n = 41), or handwriting (n = 35). We examined whether font type impacted students' performance, as measured by accuracy and response time, on the Perceptual Math Equivalence Task, error identification task, and equation-solving task. Compared to students in the Kalam and handwriting conditions, students in the Times New Roman condition were less accurate on the Perceptual Math Equivalence Task in which they judged whether two expressions were equivalent or not equivalent. We did not find differences between conditions in performance on error identification and equation-solving tasks. The findings have implications for research and practice. Specifically, researchers and educators may choose font types in which they present mathematics information with consideration, as font types may impact students' mathematical processing and performance.

Inpatient administration of opioids and risk for post-operative ileus in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: Post-operative ileus (POI) is a common and potentially serious complication after surgery. We assessed the incidence and identified predictors of POI in older surgical patients. DESIGN: A retrospective observational study. SETTING: University of California-San Francisco electronic medical record data. PARTICIPANTS: Opioid-naïve, noncancer patients, aged 65 and older, who underwent elective surgery in the period 2017-2019. EXPOSURE: Administration of opioid analgesics per day of hospitalization in opioid naïve patients. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE: Incidence of POI and likelihood of developing POI. RESULTS: In the study period, 3 percent of opioid naïve patients developed POI. Patients with POI used on average 197.1 oral morphine equivalents (OMEs) per day of hospitalization compared to 82.5 OME in patients without POI (p = 0.013). Yet, there were not statistically significant differences in post-operative pain scores between patients with and without POI. General surgery (p = 0.0031), length of surgery (p = 0.0031), and hospital length of stay (p < 0.0001) were significant predictors of the risk for developing POI. Adjusted inpatient administration of more than 90 OME per day of hospitalization was associated with a four times greater risk for developing POI (p = 0.016). Developing POI was associated with 6.5 (95 percent confidence interval: 5.2-7.8) additional days of hospitalization among patients who developed POI compared to patients who did not develop POI (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Adjusted inpatient administration of more than 90 OME significantly increased the risk for developing POI in opioid-naïve older patients. Developing POI after surgery significantly increased the hospital length of stay. Optimizing inpatient administration of opioids may prevent opioid use-related POI and longer hospitalizations.