Introduction
Continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) is a common practice in the intensive care unit often associated with electrolyte derangements. Recently, our institution added a phosphate dialysis solution, Phoxillum®, to our formulary as an option for CVVH fluid in addition to the bicarbonate‐based Prismasol® products available. We sought to evaluate the impact of Phoxillum in patients who required CVVH when compared to Prismasol with regard to phosphate and glucose management.
Methods
This was a single‐center, retrospective, observational cohort analysis approved by Partners Health Care System Institutional Review Board that included patients who received a minimum of 24 hours of either Prismasol 4/2.5 or Phoxillum for CVVH from February 2017 to November 2017. Phosphate and glucose levels were monitored daily while on CVVH. Prevalence of hypoglycemia (glucose <70 mg/dL), hyperglycemia (glucose >180 mg/dL), hypophosphatemia (phosphate <2.5 mg/dL), and hyperphosphatemia (phosphate >4.3 mg/dL) were collected in terms of days of occurrence while on CVVH. Oral and intravenous phosphate repletion requirements were collected for all patients.
Findings
Hypophosphatemia occurred more frequently while patients were receiving Prismasol as compared to Phoxillum (130 [24.9%] vs. 13 [6.2%], rate ratio [RR] 0.20 [95% confidence interval—CI = 0.10–0.42, P < 0.0001]), and consequently there was a numerically lower need for intravenous phosphorous repletion in the Phoxillum group (RR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.26, 1.30], P = 0.19]. There was a numerically higher incidence of hyperphosphatemia while patients were on Phoxillum therapy as compared to Prismasol (78 [37%] vs. 145 [27.7%], RR 1.25 [95% CI = 0.84, 1.86, P = 0.27]). There was no difference between the Phoxillum and Prismasol groups in terms of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. There was no notable difference in the cost found between the two therapies.
Discussion
The findings suggest that the use of Phoxillum for CVVH may be associated with decreased incidence of hypophosphatemia and a potentially decreased need for phosphate repletion in patients who require CVVH.
Disclaimer
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Purpose
Based on the pharmacokinetic profile of levothyroxine, a 3-day hold guideline for adult patients ordered for intravenous (IV) levothyroxine was implemented at a tertiary academic medical center. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the implementation of an IV levothyroxine hold guideline.
Methods
This single-center, retrospective analysis identified patients ordered for IV levothyroxine during a thirteen-week period before and after implementation of the guideline. The primary outcome was guideline adherence, defined as full implementation of the three-day hold. Secondary outcomes included the number of IV levothyroxine administrations avoided in the post-guideline group, extrapolated yearly cost avoidance (EYCA) post-guideline implementation, reasons for guideline non-adherence, and number of safety reports involving IV levothyroxine.
Results
A total of 166 and 134 patients met inclusion criteria for the pre and post-guideline groups, respectively. Guideline adherence was observed in 94 (70.1%) patients, resulting in 276 vials saved in the thirteen-week post-guideline period which translated to an EYCA of $139,877. Forty orders (29.9%) were non-adherent to the guideline with the most common reason stated as nil per os (NPO). No difference in safety outcomes was seen between the pre- and post-guideline groups as evidenced by one safety report in each group.
Conclusion
We observed a high rate of adherence to an IV levothyroxine hold guideline. This was associated with a substantial cost savings over the study period with no increase in reported safety events. To our knowledge, this is the first published report of an inpatient IV levothyroxine three-day hold guideline.
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