Clinical assessment of a two-compartment Bayesian forecasting method for lidocaine.

The predictive performance of a two-compartment Bayesian forecasting method for lidocaine (L) was evaluated concurrently with lidocaine therapy in 46 hospitalized patients; 14 of these patients presented with congestive heart failure (CHF). Using an HP-85 microcomputer, demographic and dose-concentration information obtained during continuous lidocaine therapy was used to forecast subsequent lidocaine concentrations. One lidocaine concentration was obtained within each of the three intervals following initiation of lidocaine infusions: I1 (1-6 h), I2 (6-12 h), and I3 (greater than 12 h). Patients were categorized into 4 groups: (a) short-term infusions (less than 24 h) without CHF, (b) short-term infusions with CHF, (c) long-term infusions (greater than 24 h) without CHF, and (d) long-term infusions with CHF. The mean prediction errors (range -0.60-0.27) included zero (95% confidence limits) in all groups and suggested no bias. Forecasts of the I3 lidocaine concentrations were consistently more precise [lower mean absolute errors (MAE) and root mean squared errors] using the lidocaine concentration obtained during the 6-12-h interval (I2) than when the lidocaine concentration obtained at the earlier interval (I1) was used. The MAE was reduced by 20-40% when a single lidocaine concentration obtained during I2 was used as compared to I1. Precision was only slightly improved with the use of two lidocaine concentrations. We conclude that this Bayesian algorithm is unbiased and delivers acceptable precision in forecasting lidocaine concentrations.

Comparative assessment of in vitro inactivation of gentamicin in the presence of carbenicillin by three different gentamicin assay methods.

Inactivation of gentamicin (G) is known to occur secondarily to the formation of complexes with certain beta-lactam antibiotics. However, aminoglycosides in the presence of aminoglycoside-beta-lactam complexes may not be recognized uniformly by all assay methods. We tested this hypothesis by using mixtures of G plus carbenicillin (C), with and without the addition of penicillinase, in pooled sera under several in vitro conditions: at 25 and 35 degrees C and at low and high C concentrations. Samples were assayed for G with the EMIT and TDx systems, and a microbiological assay was performed with a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to C. In the presence of C (500 micrograms/ml) at 35 degrees C, the initial G concentration of 5 micrograms/ml decreased markedly over 48 h as assessed by all three assay methods. However, significantly greater degradation was noted when samples were measured by microbiological assay and TDx than by EMIT. Differences between assays were less marked when mixtures were studied at a lower temperature and with a lower G to C ratio (5 micrograms of G plus 100 micrograms of C per ml). The addition of penicillinase to the antibiotic mixtures prevented the degradation of G over time when measured by all three assay systems. We concluded (i) that EMIT measures higher serum concentrations of G than do TDx or microbiological assays when complexes of G and C are present and (ii) that the addition of penicillinase to serum samples containing C and G would be effective in preventing G degradation during prolonged (greater than 24-h) periods between the time of sampling and assay.