The College of Pharmacy Monthly Research Publication Highlight compares the efficacy of antibiotics in patients with infections in intensive care units
The UK College of Pharmacy Research Publication Highlight for March, 2017 is titled “Comparison of ß-lactam plus aminoglycoside versus ß-lactam plus fluoroquinolone empirical therapy in serious nosocomial infections due to Gram-negative bacilli” and was published in the Journal of Chemotherapy.
The project was completed by investigators from the University of Kentucky College Of Pharmacy and UK Healthcare’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Pharmacy Services. Dr. Benjamin Ereshefsky from the Department of Pharmacy Services is the study’s lead author. Dr. Maji Al-Hasan in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Drs. Yevgeniya Gokun and Craig Martin of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science contributed to the work.
The development of infections in intensive care units (ICU) is a common complication of ICU care and a significant contributor to mortality. The investigators conducted a retrospective study of patients treated from 2005 to 2011 with anti-pseudomonal ß-lactam in combination with either a fluoroquinolone or an aminoglycoside, two commonly used therapeutic strategies employed to treat Gram-negative bacilli infections. Cure rates were compared at 7 days and mortality 28 days following hospitalization. The results show that both regimens are equally effective and eliminate over 70% of infections at 7 days. Similarly, 28-day mortality was 20% and did not differ between treatments. These data indicate that neither treatment is superior, but underscore the need for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to improve treatment of ICU-acquired infections and reduce mortality in the ICU patient population.
We wish to remember and honor those who inhabited this Commonwealth before the arrival of the Europeans. Briefly occupying these lands were the Osage, Wyndott tribe, and Miami peoples. The Adena and Hopewell peoples, who are recognized by the naming of the time period in which they resided here, were here more permanently. Some of their mounds remain in the Lexington area, including at UK’s Adena Park.
In more recent years, the Cherokee occupied southeast Kentucky, the Yuchi southwest Kentucky, the Chickasaw extreme western Kentucky and the Shawnee central Kentucky including what is now the city of Lexington. The Shawnee left when colonization pushed through the Appalachian Mountains. Lower Shawnee Town ceremonial grounds are still visible in Greenup County.
We honor the first inhabitants who were here, respect their culture, and acknowledge the presence of their descendants who are here today in all walks of life including fellow pharmacists and healthcare professionals.