Castanedaelgaard0508

No study has been evaluated pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties of β-lactam antibiotics in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), not requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT). We evaluated the time that plasma concentrations remain above four times the MIC (ft > 4MIC) and PK parameters of meropenem in this population.

In this prospective, randomized clinical trial (RCT), all patients received standard dose (3 g daily) of meropenem for 48 h, then randomly allocated in standard or adjusted groups. The standard group received meropenem without dose adjustment. In the adjusted group, the meropenem dose was adjusted based on the Cockcroft-Gault(C-G) equation. Meropenem concentrations were measured at the peak and trough times on the 2nd and 5th days of the study.

On the 2nd day of the study, 3 out of 10 (30%) of patients attained the PD target (≥ 80%ft > 4MIC). In the 5th day of the study, the PD target was attained in 2 out of 10 (20%) and 1 out of 5 (20%) of patients who received standard and adjusted doses of meropenem, respectively (p = 1). In all samples, increased volume of distribution (Vd) (median; IQR) (46.04; 23.06-103.18 L), terminal half-life (T1/2) (4.51; 2.67-8.88 h) and decreased clearance (6.52; 4.43-10.16 L/h) have been shown.

In critically ill patients with AKI, who not receive RRT, standard doses, and adjusted according to renal function of meropenem failed to achieve PD target of ≥ 80%ft > 4MIC. Higher doses are required for this target.

The study protocol with registered retrospectively and approved on January 19, 2019, with the number of IRCT20160412027346N5.

The study protocol with registered retrospectively and approved on January 19, 2019, with the number of IRCT20160412027346N5.

Several clinical studies have demonstrated that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, but not angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), reduce the risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality. We found that ARBs inhibited the activity of various cytochrome enzymes in arachidonic acid metabolism, resulting in decreased in vitro production of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which exhibit vasodilation and anti-inflammatory effects, and their subsequent metabolites, dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs). The present study examined the effects of ARBs on serum levels of EETs and DHETs in patients admitted to a cardiovascular center.

A total of 223 patients were enrolled, of which 107 were exposed to ARBs in this study. ARB-free individuals were defined as the control group (n = 116). Serum levels of EETs and DHETs were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Neuronal Signaling antagonist Multiple linear regression analyses were carried out to identify covariates for total serum levels of EETs and DHETs.

A significant negative association was observed between ARB use and serum EET and DHET levels (p = 0.034), whereas a significant positive association was observed between the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum EET and DHET levels (p = 0.007). The median serum total EET and DHET level in the ARB group tended to become lower than that in the control group, although the difference was not significant.

ARB use and eGFR were significantly associated with total serum levels of EETs and DHETs. Our results suggest that ARBs could affect the concentration of EETs in vivo.

ARB use and eGFR were significantly associated with total serum levels of EETs and DHETs. Our results suggest that ARBs could affect the concentration of EETs in vivo.

This study aimed to compare the utilization of Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatments, donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine, and memantine, in Korea with Australia and other countries with universal health coverage.

Reimbursement criteria and the patent status of four AD treatments in Korea and Australia were reviewed. The monthly spending and utilization of the treatments were extracted from the national electronic database in Korea and Australia. The defined daily dose per 1000 elderly population per day (DDD/1000e/day) were calculated from July 2008 to June 2019. Annual cost trends of Norway and England were compared with Korea and Australia.

With the highest share of the use of donepezil in both countries, the cost and utilization of AD treatments in Korea increased more rapidly and remained higher than Australia. The cost of AD treatments in Korea increased by 15.5% every year during the study period, while the spending of the same drugs in Australia decreased by 10.5% annually. The utilization in DDDThis study provides a baseline to explore more comprehensive cross-country studies on rational use of medicines.

The aim of this study is to develop a new objective semiautomatic method for analysing Meibomian glands visibility quantitatively.

One hundred twelve healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 90years (48.29 ± 27.46years) participated in this study. Infrared meibography was obtained from the right upper eyelid through Oculus Keratograph 5M. Meibographies were classified into 3 groups Group 1 = patients with good subjective glands visibility and a gland dropout percentage < 1/3 of the total Meibomian gland area; Group 2 = patients with low subjective glands visibility and a gland dropout < 1/3; and Group 3 = patients with low subjective glands visibility and a gland dropout > 1/3. New metrics based on the visibility of the Meibomian glands were calculated and later compared between groups. Rho Spearman test was used to assess the correlation between each metric, and Meibomian gland dropout percentage with the entire sample and after excluding Group 2. A p value less than 0.05 was defined as statistically significant.

Fifty-six subjects were classified in Group 1 (24.48 ± 9.62years), 19 in Group 2 (69.16 ± 21.30years) and 37 in Group 3 (73.59 ± 13.70years). No statistically significant differences were found between Groups 1 and 2 in dropout percentage. All metrics, with the exception of entropy, showed a higher Meibomian gland visibility in Group 1 than in the other two groups. Moderate correlations were statistically significant for all metrics with the exception of entropy. Correlations were higher after excluding Group 2.

The proposed method is able to assess Meibomian gland visibility in an objective and repeatable way, which might help clinicians enhance Meibomian gland dysfunction diagnosis and follow-up treatment.

The proposed method is able to assess Meibomian gland visibility in an objective and repeatable way, which might help clinicians enhance Meibomian gland dysfunction diagnosis and follow-up treatment.