Gentamicin is a widely used antibiotic in the intensive care unit (ICU). Its dosage is difficult to adapt to hemodialyzed ICU patients. The FDA-approved regimen consists of the administration of 1 to 1.7 mg/kg of gentamicin at the end of each dialysis session. Better pharmacokinetic management could be obtained if gentamicin were administered just before the dialysis session. . Therefore, administration of 6 mg/kg of gentamicin before hemodialysis to critically ill patients achieves a high C max and an acceptable AUC, maximizing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic endpoints.

IntroductionCirculatory failure during brain death organ donor resuscitation is a problem that compromises recovery of organs. Combined administration of steroid, thyroxine and vasopressin has been proposed to optimize the management of brain deceased donors before recovery of organs. However the single administration of hydrocortisone has not been rigorously evaluated in any trial.MethodsIn this prospective multicenter cluster study, 259 subjects were included. Administration of low-dose steroids composed the steroid group (n = 102).ResultsAlthough there were more patients in the steroid group who received norepinephrine before brain death (80% vs. 66%: P = 0.03), mean dose of vasopressor administered after brain death was significantly lower than in the control group (1.18 ± 0.92 mg/H vs. 1.49 ± 1.29 mg/H: P = 0.03), duration of vasopressor support use was shorter (874 min vs. 1160 min: P < 0.0001) and norepinephrine weaning before aortic clamping was more frequent (33.8% vs. 9.5%: P < 0.0001). Using a survival approach, probability of norepinephrine weaning was significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.0001) with a probability of weaning 4.67 times higher in the steroid group than in the control group (95% CI: 2.30 – 9.49).ConclusionsDespite no observed benefits of the steroid administration on primary function recovery of transplanted grafts, administration of glucocorticoids should be a part of the resuscitation management of deceased donors with hemodynamic instability.

more information on the 'best treatment' of surgical and trauma patients. Ultimately, it should be in everyone's interest to interpret the existing data on medical topics objectively and neutrally, without rushing to premature, far-reaching conclusions which could confuse physicians and even render future therapy with potentially life-saving drugs impossible.

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