Our results suggest that adequate caspofungin plasma levels are maintained during ECMO. In the case of voriconazole, it is recommended to monitor plasma levels to ensure efficacy and avoid toxicity.

This large prospective study demonstrates that medication history acquisition is very often incomplete in the ED. A structured form and a standardised method is necessary. Pharmacists are especially suited to acquire and supervise accurate medication histories, as they are educated and familiar with commonly used drugs.

No abstract

Itraconazole is a triazole antifungal agent with a broad spectrum of activity. It is well tolerated and highly ef®cacious, particularly because its main metabolite, hydroxy-itraconazole, also has considerable antifungal activity. Two new formulations of itraconazole, an oral solution and an intravenous formulation, have recently been developed, which combine lipophilic itraconazole with cyclodextrin. These formulations have improved the solubility of itraconazole, leading to enhanced absorption and bioavailability compared with the original capsule formulation, without having an impact on the tolerability pro®le of itraconazole. The oral solution and intravenous formulations of itraconazole produce consistent plasma concentrations and are ideal for the treatment of systemic fungal infections in a wide range of patient populations. The additional¯exibility offered by the different routes of administration means that itraconazole treatment can be speci®cally tailored for use in all patients, including children and those requiring intensive care.

Most pharmacoeconomic evaluations of clinical pharmacy interventions demonstrated limitations in their methodological quality and applicability to current practice. Future evaluations should use a comparative study design that includes the incremental cost-effectiveness or cost:benefit ratio of clinical pharmacy interventions from a societal perspective.