The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7480 p615
1 December 2007

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Critical care team recognised by UKCPA

Intubation of critically ill patients using etomidate as the anaesthetic drug does not increase mortality and etomidate can continue to be used, despite controversial recommendations from researchers that it should no longer be used in the intensive care setting, a study suggests.

Rob Shulman and his team from University College Hospital, London, and the School of Pharmacy, University of London, conducted an audit of 104 patients consecutively intubated in the intensive care unit at UCH. Of these patients, 55 were intubated using etomidate and 49 were intubated using other anaesthetic agents.

The team found no difference between patients in the two groups in terms of key outcomes, which included length of stay, mortality, organ function and the need for vasopressors. As a result of this work, the intensive care unit at the hospital has decided to continue to use etomidate.

The team received the GlaxoSmithKline advanced practitioner award for their work, presented to Mr Shulman at the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association autumn symposium in Leeds last month.

Patricia Ging and her team from Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, received the Lily UK critical care award for the design, implementation and evaluation of a new drug chart in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

The Novartis antimicrobial management award went to Andrea Gill and colleagues from the Royal Liverpool Children’s NHS Trust for the introduction of a once daily aminoglycoside regimen in paediatrics.

The Hameln best oral presentation prize went to Emma Davies from The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust for her presentation on adverse drug reactions in hospital inpatients.