Corticosteroid use is associated with an increased risk of symptomatic pulmonary embolism. The greatest risk is in the first 30 days of use and increases with increasing steroid dose.
Low MEWS score may be beneficial in identifying a subset of hospitalized patients unlikely to benefit from nocturnal vital sign monitoring.
The toxicity of statins was increased in older adults who were coprescribed the CYP3A4 inhibitors clarithromycin or erythromycin.
In a matched, retrospective cohort study, early use of daptomycin compared to vancomycin in MRSA bacteremia with vancomycin MICs > 1 µg/mL resulted in improved clinical outcomes, including less clinical failure at 30 days, lower mortality and less persistent bacteremia.
Despite better compliance with hand hygiene and screening, use of isolation, and other techniques, ICUs remain notorious breeding grounds for hospital-acquired infections. A universal decolonization strategy reduces the total number of ICU bloodborne infections.