The impact of an antimicrobial stewardship programme on the use of antimicrobials and the evolution of drug resistance.

Misuse of antibiotics can provoke increased bacterial resistance. There are no immediate prospects of any new broad-spectrum antibiotics, especially any with activity against enterobacteria, coming onto the market. Therefore, programmes should be implemented to optimise antimicrobial therapy. In a quasi-experimental study, the results for the pre-intervention year were compared with those for the 3 years following the application of an antimicrobial stewardship programme. We describe 862 interventions carried out as part of the stewardship programme at the Hospital Costa del Sol from 2009 to 2011. We examined the compliance of the empirical antimicrobial treatment with the programme recommendations and the treatment optimisation achieved by reducing the antibiotic spectrum and adjusting the dose, dosing interval and duration of treatment. In addition, we analysed the evolution of the sensitivity profile of the principal microorganisms and the financial savings achieved. 93 % of the treatment recommendations were accepted. The treatment actions taken were to corroborate the empirical treatment (46 % in 2009 and 31 % in 2011) and to reduce the antimicrobial spectrum taking into account the antibiogram results (37 % in 2009 and 58 % in 2011). The main drugs assessed were imipenem/meropenem, used in 38.6 % of the cases, and cefepime (20.1 %). The sensitivity profile of imipenem against Pseudomonas aeruginosa increased by 10 % in 2011. Savings in annual drug spending (direct costs) of 30,000 Euros were obtained. Stewardship programmes are useful tools for optimising antimicrobial therapy. They may contribute to preventing increased bacterial resistance and to reducing the long-term financial cost of antibiotic treatment.

[Medicines reconciliation in critically ill patients]. / Conciliación de la medicación en el paciente crítico.

OBJECTIVE: Medicines reconciliation plays a key role in patient safety. However, there is limited data available on how this process affects critically ill patients. In this study, we evaluate a program of reconciliation in critically ill patients conducted by the Intensive Care Unit's (ICU) pharmacist. DESIGN: Prospective study about reconciliation medication errors observed in 50 patients. SCOPE ICU PATIENTS: All ICU patients, excluding patients without regular treatment. INTERVENTIONS: Reconciliation process was carried out in the first 24h after ICU admission. Discrepancies were clarified with the doctor in charge of the patient. MAIN VARIABLE: We analyzed the incidence of reconciliation errors, their characteristics and gravity, the interventions made by the pharmacist and their acceptance by physicians. RESULTS: A total of 48% of patients showed at least one reconciliation error. Omission of drugs accounted for 74% of the reconciliation errors, mainly involving antihypertensive drugs (33%). An amount of 58% of reconciliation errors detected corresponded to severity category D. Pharmacist made interventions in the 98% of patients with discrepancies. A total of 81% of interventions were accepted. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and characteristics of reconciliation errors in ICU are similar to those published in non-critically ill patients, and they affect drugs with high clinical significance. Our data support the importance of the stablishment of medication reconciliation proceedings in critically ill patients. The ICU's pharmacist could carry out this procedure adequately.

A comparative study of the sealing ability of two root canal obturation techniques.

A comparison was made of the ability of two root canal obturating techniques to prevent dye microleakage: gutta-percha lateral condensation and mechanically plasticized gutta-percha (JS Quick-fill). Twenty central incisors were prepared and obturated by each technique. After rendering the teeth transparent, linear dye penetration was found to be 0.48 and 0.52 mm, respectively. The difference between the two techniques was not significant. As for the distribution of the sealing cement (AH26) in the teeth obturated with JS Quickfill, the cement was located in the most peripheral zone of the obturation alongside the dentinal walls, whereas the gutta-percha was found in the central part of the canal obturating material.

An in vivo comparative study of two apex locators.

Two different electronic apex locators were used before extraction to determine working length in 116 root canals belonging to 34 molars. The results were then compared with postextraction working length measurements. The determinations were made before and after eliminating the canal contents and drying the interior. The results showed that 84.8% and 79.3% of the Odometer, and 89.6% and 88.7% of the Endocater readings for dry and nondry canals, respectively, occurred within the two 0.5-mm intervals closest to the apical constriction.

[Hypomagnesaemia severe in patients with high flow ileostomy]. / Hipomagnesemia severa en paciente con ileostomía de alto débito.

The need to create a stoma is frequent in the daily clinical practice. Usually ileostomies work well within the first 24 hours. However, many times they are associated with important morbidity up to 76%. Although the complications derived from this technique may be surgical, metabolic complications, which are preceded by large losses through the stoma, are the ones going undetected. It is not rare to see patients carrying an ileostomy that come repeatedly to the hospital with severe metabolic impairments and in whom the underlying cause remains untreated. The case reported herein is just one of a series published in this journal making us aware of the need for a multidisciplinary approach of the ileostomies and the prevention of major complications derived from their poor functioning.

Conciliación de la medicación en el paciente crítico / Medicines reconciliation in critically ill patients

OBJETIVO: La conciliación de la medicación se considera un elemento clave en la seguridad del paciente, no existiendo apenas datos sobre cómo afecta al paciente crítico. En este estudio, se evalúa un programa de conciliación en el paciente crítico liderado por el farmacéutico adscrito a la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI).DISEÑO: Estudio prospectivo sobre los errores de conciliación en 50 pacientes. Ámbito: UCI médico-quirúrgica. PACIENTES: Se incluyó a todos los pacientes con estancia en UCI, excluyendo a los pacientes sin tratamiento habitual. INTERVENCIONES: La conciliación de la medicación se realizó en las primeras 24 h tras el ingreso en UCI. En caso de encontrar discrepancias, se contactó con el médico responsable. Variables principales: Se analizó la incidencia, tipo y gravedad de los errores, sus características, las intervenciones realizadas y su aceptación por el médico responsable. RESULTADOS: El 48% de los pacientes presentó algún error de conciliación. La omisión de fármacos supuso el 74% de los mismos, afectando principalmente a fármacos antihipertensivos (33%). El58% de los errores de conciliación corresponden a la categoría D de gravedad. Se realizaron sugerencias al prescriptor en el 98% de los pacientes con discrepancias, aceptándose el 81% de las intervenciones. CONCLUSIONES: Los errores de conciliación en UCI tienen una incidencia y características similares a los referenciados en pacientes no críticos, afectando a grupos terapéuticos de gran significación clínica. Nuestros datos apoyan la incorporación de los procesos de conciliación al cuidado habitual del paciente crítico. El farmacéutico adscrito a la unidad puede llevar a cabo el proceso adecuadamente. (33%). An amount of 58% of reconciliation errors detected corresponded to severity category D. Pharmacist made interventions in the 98% of patients with discrepancies. A total of 81% of interventions were accepted. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and characteristics of reconciliation errors in ICU are similar to those published in non-critically ill patients, and they affect drugs with high clinical significance. Our data support the importance of the stablishment of medication reconciliation proceedings in critically ill patients. The ICU's pharmacist could carry out this procedure adequately

OBJECTIVE: Medicines reconciliation plays a key role in patient safety. However, there is limited data available on how this process affects critically ill patients. In this study, we evaluate a program of reconciliation in critically ill patients conducted by the Intensive Care Unit's (ICU)pharmacist. DESIGN: Prospective study about reconciliation medication errors observed in 50 patients. Scope: ICU. PATIENTS: All ICU patients, excluding patients without regular treatment. INTERVENTIONS: Reconciliation process was carried out in the first 24 h after ICU admission. Discrepancies were clarified with the doctor in charge of the patient. Main variable: We analyzed the incidence of reconciliation errors, their characteristics and gravity, the interventions made by the pharmacist and their acceptance by physicians. RESULTS: A total of 48% of patients showed at least one reconciliation error. Omission of drugs accounted for 74% of the reconciliation errors, mainly involving antihypertensive drugs (33%). An amount of 58% of reconciliation errors detected corresponded to severity category D. Pharmacist made interventions in the 98% of patients with discrepancies. A total of 81% of interventions were accepted. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and characteristics of reconciliation errors in ICU are similar to those published in non-critically ill patients, and they affect drugs with high clinical significance. Our data support the importance of the stablishment of medication reconciliation proceedings in critically ill patients. The ICU's pharmacist could carry out this procedure adequately

Hipomagnesemia severa en paciente con ileostomía de alto débito / Hypomagnesaemia severe in patients with high flow ileostomy

La necesidad de construcción de un estoma es frecuente en la práctica clínica habitual. Las ileostomías por lo general funcionan adecuadamente en las siguientes 24horas. Sin embrago, muchas veces, están asociadas a una morbilidad importante de hasta el 76%. Aunque las complicaciones derivadas de esta técnica pueden ser quirúrgicas, son las metabólicas precedidas por grandes pérdidas a través del estoma las que pasan más inadvertidas. No es infrecuente encontrarnos con pacientes portadores de ileostomías que acuden en repetidas ocasiones a los centros hospitalarios con serias alteraciones metabólicas en los que no se trata la causa subyacente. El caso que presentamos aquí es uno más de una serie publicada en esta misma revista que nos sensibiliza ante la necesidad del manejo multidisciplinar de las ileostomías y de la prevención de complicaciones mayores derivadas del mal funcionamiento de las mismas (AU)

The need to create a stoma is frequent in the daily clinical practice. Usually ileostomies work well within the first24 hours. However, many times they are associated with important morbidity up to 76%. Although the complications derived from this technique may be surgical, metabolic complications, which are preceded by large losses through the stoma, are the ones going undetected. It is not rare to see patients carrying an ileostomy that come repeatedly to the hospital with severe metabolic impairments and in whom the underlying cause remains untreated. The case reported herein is just one of a series published in this journal making us aware of the need for a multidisciplinary approach of the ileostomies and the prevention of major complications derived from their poor functioning (AU)

The adaptation of mechanically softened gutta-percha to the canal walls in the presence or absence of smear layer: a scanning electron microscopic study.

The objective of this study was to compare the adaptation of mechanically softened gutta-percha to the root canal wall in the presence and absence of smear layer. The root canals of 20 freshly extracted human maxillary incisors were cleaned and shaped. Prior to obturation, 10 root canals were irrigated with 20 ml of 50% citric acid followed by 20 ml of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. All canals were obturated with mechanical compaction of gutta-percha and AH-26 sealer. After 72 h, each tooth was fractured in half. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the sealer had formed a continuous layer in contact with the canal walls, becoming progressively thinner towards the apex. The sealer penetrated into the dentinal tubules along with projections of gutta-percha only in those teeth without smear layer.

[Thrombolytic delay in myocardial infarction and primary care]. / Retraso trombolítico del infarto de miocardio y atención primaria.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the effect of a primary care consultation at a health centre or at home and to determine the effect of the use of the pre-hospital electrocardiogram on thrombolytic delay. DESIGN: Analytical cross-sectional study. SETTING: La Safor county (136,000 inhabitants), Valencia, Spain. PATIENTS: Sample of 137 patients from the area admitted for acute myocardial infarction. INTERVENTION: None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Multivariate analysis through Cox regression models of the thrombolytic delay, comparing the patients who attended a primary care centre (40, 29.2%) and those who called out a doctor to their home (26, 19.0%) with those who attended hospital (71, 51.8%). The thrombolysis proportions in the groups were analysed with logistic regression. Patients referred from primary care arrived at hospital later than those who attended directly, although a greater thrombolytic delay was only seen in those visited at home (RR 0.25, 95% CI 0.09-0.71). A primary care electrocardiogram (14 patients, 10.2%) reduced the thrombolytic delay (RR 8.81, 95% CI 1.20-64.91) by reducing intra-hospital delay. There were no differences between the groups for the thrombolysis proportion (67 patients, 48.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with infarction seen in primary care reach hospital later. Calling and waiting for the doctor at home increases the thrombolytic delay. An electrocardiogram on the infarction patients who attend a health centre reduces thrombolytic delay by reducing intra-hospital delay.

Retraso trombolítico del infarto de miocardio y atención primaria / Thrombolytic delay in myocardial infarction and primary care

Objetivo. Analizar la influencia de la visita en atención primaria en un centro de salud o en el domicilio y determinar la utilidad del electrocardiograma prehospitalario en el retraso trombolítico del infarto de miocardio. Diseño. Estudio transversal. Emplazamiento. Comarca de la Safor (136.000 habitantes), Valencia (España). Pacientes. Muestra de 137 pacientes ingresados por infarto agudo de miocardio procedentes de la comunidad. Intervenciones. Ninguna. Mediciones y resultados. Análisis multivariante mediante modelos de regresión de Cox del retraso trombolítico comparando los pacientes que acudieron a un centro de atención primaria (40 [29,2 por ciento]) y los que llamaron al médico al domicilio (26 [19,0 por ciento]) con los que acudieron el hospital (71 [51,8 por ciento]). Análisis de la proporción de trombólisis en los grupos mediante regresión logística. Los pacientes remitidos desde atención primaria llegaron más tarde al hospital que los que acudieron directamente, aunque sólo se observó un mayor retraso trombolítico en los visitados en el domicilio (RR 0,25; IC del 95 por ciento, 0,09-0,71). La realización de un electrocardiograma en atención primaria (14 pacientes [10,2 por ciento]) redujo el retraso trombolítico (RR 8,81; IC del 95 por ciento, 1,20-64,91) al disminuir el retraso intrahospitalario. No hubo diferencias en la proporción de trombólisis (67 pacientes [48,9 por ciento]) entre los grupos. Conclusiones. Los pacientes con infarto visitados en atención primaria llegan más tarde al hospital. Llamar y esperar al médico en el domicilio incrementa el retraso trombolítico. La realización de un electrocardiograma a los pacientes con infarto que acuden a un centro de salud reduce el retraso trombolítico al disminuir el retraso intrahospitalario (AU)