We investigated the hemodynamic and mortality effects of continuous ketamine infusion in critically ill pediatric patients. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Patients who used continuous sedative from 2015 to 2017 for 24 hours or more were included. We compared blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, vasogenic medications, and sedation and pain scores for 12 hours before and after initiation of continuous ketamine. The mortality rates for continuous ketamine and Non-ketamine groups were compared by multivariate logistic regression. A total of 240 patients used continuous sedation, and 82 used continuous ketamine. The median infusion rate of ketamine was 8.1 mcg/kg/min, and the median duration was 6 days. Heart rates (138 vs. 135 beat/minute, P = .033) and respiratory rates (31 vs. 25 respiration/minute, P = .001) decreased, but blood pressure (99.9 vs. 101.1 mm Hg, P = .124) and vasogenic medications did not change after ketamine infusion. Continuous ketamine was not a significant risk factor for mortality (hazard ratio 1.352, confidence interval 0.458–3.996). Continous ketamine could be used in PICU without hemodynamic instability. Further studies in randomized controlled design about the effects of continuous ketamine infusion on hemodynamic changes, sedation, and mortality are required.
Pungency of hot pepper has limited its usage even though it shows various health beneficial effects. This study was conducted to develop the novel yoghurt containing hot pepper with diminishing pungency and aimed to examine the quality characteristics of yoghurt prepared with fermented red pepper. Hot pepper was first fermented with Bacillus licheniformis SK1230 to reduce the pungency of capsaicin. We then examined the quality, sensory characteristics, and antioxidant activity of yoghurt containing the fermented red pepper. The titratable acidity of this yoghurt increased whereas the viscosity decreased with increasing amounts of added red pepper. The total polyphenol content increased in proportion to the amount of added red pepper. The antioxidant activity significantly increased with the addition of red pepper (p<0.05). Color evaluation showed that the L value decreased whereas the a and b values increased significantly with the amount of red pepper added (p<0.05). In the sensory evaluation, yoghurt prepared with higher amounts of fermented red pepper received lower scores. However, yoghurt containing fermented red pepper at a concentration of 0.05% received higher scores for taste, flavor, and overall acceptability than yoghurt prepared with non-fermented pepper. Therefore, it can be concluded that the application of red pepper fermented by Bacillus licheniformis SK1230 gives beneficial feature to the preparation of yoghurt.
Objectives Medication reconciliation is a key part of transitional care. This study examined the implementation of a pharmacist-led medication reconciliation programme for short-term hospitalised patients and explored the barriers and benefits. Methods A prospective study was conducted in patients admitted to a gynaecological oncology department. Medications were reconciled on admission using a 'comprehensive medication review (CMR)' strategy. Patients received a reminder text message and were asked to bring their medications a day before admission for scheduled chemotherapy. Upon admission, a pharmacist reviewed patients' admission prescriptions and home medications, including non-prescription medications, based on clinical status and laboratory test results. Drug-related problems and unused or expired medications were assessed. Satisfaction with the CMR service and reasons for non-compliance were surveyed by an individual interview. The cost of the unused or expired medications was calculated based on the average drug acquisition cost. Results Sixty-four interventions in 95 patients were performed during the study-namely, correction of treatment duration (34 cases, 53.1%), recommendation of medications for untreated indications (18 cases, 28.1%), correct drug selection (5 cases, 7.8%
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