Background Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) manifested by a broad spectrum of symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic manifestations to severe illness and death. The purpose of the study was to extensively describe the clinical features and outcomes in critically ill patients with COVID19 in Saudi Arabia. Method A multi-center, non-interventional, cohort study for all critically ill patients aged 18 years or older who are admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) between March 1 st to August 31 st , 2020 with an objectively confirmed diagnosis of COVID19. The diagnosis of COVID19 was confirmed by Reverse Transcriptase–Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) on nasopharyngeal and/or throat swabs. Multivariate logistic regression and generalized linear regression were used. We considered a P value of < 0.05 statistically significant. Results A total of 560 patients met the inclusion criteria. An extensive list of clinical features were associated with higher 30-days ICU mortality rate such as requiring mechanical ventilation (MV) or developing acute kidney injury within 24 hours of ICU admission, higher body temperature, white blood cells, blood glucose level, serum creatinine, fibrinogen, procalcitonin, creatine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase and Total iron-binding capacity. The most common complication during ICU stay was respiratory failure that required MV (71.4%), followed by acute kidney injury (AKI) and thrombosis with a proportion of 46.8% and 11.4% respectively. Conclusion Among patients with COVID19 who were admitted to the ICU, several variables were associated with increasing the risk of ICU mortality at 30 days. Respiratory failure that required MV, AKI and thrombosis were the most common complications during ICU stay.

Throughout the SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19) global pandemic, pharmacists were rarely mentioned as essential frontline health care providers by the news media, the public, or politicians. Around the world, pharmacists are working on the frontlines of health care every day providing essential health care services during the pandemic. Pharmacists are medication experts providing patient care in a variety of settings including hospitals, clinics, community pharmacies, long‐term care, physician offices, and national and public health. In this paper, we describe how pharmacists from high and low‐middle income countries contributed to essential patient care and well‐being of the public during the COVID‐19 pandemic. While the news media, the public, and politicians often overlooked pharmacists as essential frontline health care providers, we hope that this list of contributions by pharmacists from nine countries in this article can help to change this perspective.

Introduction Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging global threat. It increases mortality and morbidity and strains healthcare systems. Health care professionals can counter the rising AMR by promoting antibiotic stewardship and facilitating new drug development. Even with the economic and scientific challenges, it is reassuring that new agents continue to be developed. Methods This review addresses new antibiotics in the pipeline. We conducted a review of the literature including Medline, Clinicaltrials.org, and relevant pharmaceutical companies for approved and in pipeline antibiotics in phase 3 or new drug application (NDA). Results We found a number of new antibiotics and reviewed their current development status, mode of action, spectra of activity, and indications for which they have been approved. The included studies from phase 3 clinical trials were mainly utilized for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, and pneumonia acquired in the healthcare settings. The number of these agents is limited against high priority organisms. The identified antibiotics were based mainly on previously known molecules or pre-existing antimicrobial agents. Conclusion There are a limited number of antibiotics against high priority organisms such as multi-drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. New antimicrobial agents directed against the top priority organisms as classified by the World Health Organization are urgently needed.