Implementation of High-Sensitivity Troponin for Early Rule-Out of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Emergency Department.

Background/purpose: Chest pain is a common reason for ED visits. Implementing a HEART score-based algorithm previously increased early discharges by 99%. This study aims to determine if the transition from cTnT to hs-cTnT assays affected patient disposition rates.

Antistaphylococcal Efficacy of Cefepime, Meropenem, and Piperacillin-Tazobactam in Patients with Polymicrobial Infection with MSSA Bacteremia or Pneumonia.

There is a paucity of literature describing de-escalation techniques in patients with polymicrobial infections with one offending organism being methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) being treated with -lactam therapy. The purpose of this study is to determine treatment outcomes for patients with polymicrobial infections with MSSA bacteremia or pneumonia who are treated with cefepime (FEP), meropenem (MEM), or piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP). This trial design represents a retrospective observational three-group comparison study of patients at a community teaching hospital system.

Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Intensive Care Unit Sleep Improvement Protocol on Sleep Duration and Quality.

Background: Sleep improvement protocols are recommended for use in the intensive care unit (ICU) despite questions regarding which interventions to include, whether sleep quality or duration will improve, and the role of pharmacists in their development and implementation.

Objective: To characterize the impact of a pharmacist-led, ICU sleep improvement protocol on sleep duration and quality as evaluated by a commercially available activity tracker and patient perception.

Methods: Critical care pharmacists from a 40-bed, mixed ICU at a large community hospital led the development and implementation of an interprofessional sleep improvement protocol.

Characterisation of ICU sleep by a commercially available activity tracker and its agreement with patient-perceived sleep quality.

Background: A low-cost, quantitative method to evaluate sleep in the intensive care unit (ICU) that is both feasible for routine clinical practice and reliable does not yet exist. We characterised nocturnal ICU sleep using a commercially available activity tracker and evaluated agreement between tracker-derived sleep data and patient-perceived sleep quality.

Patients And Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed in a 40-bed ICU at a community teaching hospital.