The use of sensitivity discs in the identification of Campylobacter species

Filter paper discs were impregnated with a solution containing 20 mg of triphenyltetrazolium chloride per millilitre, and used in the typing of catalase-positive Campylobacter species. Also used were filter paper discs impregnated with cephalothin at 30µg/ml, 60µg/ml and 3 mg/ml and nalidixic acid at the same concentrations, as well as commercially available discs containing 30µg of, respectively, cephalothin and nalidixic acid. Results obtained proved the technique to be reliable and easier to interpret than previously used methods, and laboratory prepared filter paper discs compared favourably with commercial discs.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

The need for pharmaceutical care in an intensive care unit at a teaching hospital in South Africa

BACKGROUND. The role of the pharmacist has evolved over the last 2 decades beyond traditional functions such as stock control and dispensing. OBJECTIVES. To describe the functions performed by a clinical pharmacist while based in a surgical and trauma intensive care unit of a teaching hospital. METHODS. An operational research study that included indications of programme success was conducted. Interventions to assess therapy and achieve definite outcomes to satisfy patients’ medicine needs were documented for 51 patients over a study period of 8 weeks. RESULTS. A total of 181 interventions were suggested by the pharmacist, with 127 (70%) accepted and implemented by the medical and nursing staff of the unit. The most frequent interventions were related to: untreated medical conditions (15.5%), appropriate therapy or course (13.8%), investigations indicated or outstanding (12.2%), and inappropriate doses and dosing frequency (11%). Interventions were also made regularly to address system errors or non-compliance and factors hindering therapeutic effect. Of the 250 h the pharmacist spent in the ward, most time was used for pharmaceutical care (28%) and ward rounds (21%) with members of the multidisciplinary team. CONCLUSIONS. The study results demonstrated that a clinical pharmacist’s contribution to patient care at ward level resulted in improved monitoring of pharmacotherapy. Medicine-related problems were identified and addressed.The authors would like to acknowledge Prof. Herman Schoeman for the statistical analysis of the data.Department of Pharmacy, Medunsa campushttp://www.sajcc.org.za/index.php/SAJCCam201

Evaluating initial antimicrobial use in an adult intensive care unit at an academic teaching hospital in Pretoria, South Africa

Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally. It is estimated that in hospitals around the world 50% of antimicrobial usage is either unnecessary or inappropriate. The study aimed to explore factors surrounding initially prescribed antibiotics and direct medicine related costs in the adult Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), at Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH). A clinically trained pharmacist was included as part of the multi-disciplinary team and evaluated antibiotics prescribed after admission. These were considered as the initial course of antibiotics. The antimicrobial agents that the patient was admitted with were documented and are referred to as “antibiotics prior to review”. Just less than half of the patients, 23 (44.2%; n = 52) were initiated on antibiotics on the first day of admission to the MICU. The majority of antibiotics 46 (60.5%) were prescribed appropriately during the study period. The total cost of initial antibiotic use for the treatment period during the study was R209 140.40, with an average cost of R31 240.77 per day for all initial antibiotics. A coordinated effort from the infectious diseases specialist and clinical pharmacist within the multi-disciplinary team, assisted in appropriate prescribing of antibiotics to patients that were admitted to the MICU

SASOCP position statement on the pharmacist’s role in antibiotic stewardship 2018

Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed medicines in global healthcare practice today. Their effectiveness is crucial and often life-saving in humanity’s battle against pathogens and infectious diseases. Antibiotic/antimicrobial stewardship strategies and programmes have become vital to the preservation of effective antibiotics and the optimisation of their use. The South African Society of Clinical Pharmacy (SASOCP) has written this guideline to outline the importance, role and purpose of pharmacists in such stewardship programmes, both in the public, as well as the private hospital sectors in South Africa. It also provides an overview of various approaches to antibiotic preservation, behavioural change, stewardship measures, and monitoring strategies

Renal function monitoring of patients treated with tenofovir at Odi hospital in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is an antiretroviral drug for HIV management with an adverse effect of renal dysfunction. The objectives of this study were to investigate compliance by healthcare professionals (HCPs) with the ART guidelines when monitoring renal function in patients on tenofovir, and to retrospectively examine renal function in patients initiated on TDF as part of a first-line regimen. This retrospective and observational study involved purposive sampling of 500 patient cases (65% of which were women) from a population of 4 493. The records were reviewed and audited for HCP compliance, especially for kidney function tests [serum creatinine (Scr) and creatinine clearance (CrCl)] in patients on TDF. The median Scr remained at < 100 μmol/l at all visits. Median CrCl remained stable for Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes stage 2 (60-89 ml/l) of chronic kidney function. The median CD4 count increased with each visit, while the median viral load (VL) remained unsuppressed at all visits, indicating increased CKD risk. The mean monitoring intervals from baseline were wide at 11 months (visit 1), 24 months (visit 2) and 34 months (visit 4). The renal function of patients initiated and maintained on tenofovir was poorly monitored by HCPs. CD4, VL and Scr (CrCl) were not taken at every visit.Keywords: ART, HCPs, HIV, renal, TDF

Effects of Varying the Color, Aroma, Bitter, and Sweet Levels of a Grapefruit-Like Model Beverage on the Sensory Properties and Liking of the Consumer.

publishedVersio

Testing concurrent benefits for Section 12L tax incentives in South Africa

The South African energy crisis harms the economy. Tax incentives are intended to help, but rules for incentives must be understood by all stakeholders for taxpayers to be encouraged to invest. Section 12L (S12L) is relatively new legislation that allows a tax deduction for verified year-on-year energy efficiency savings in South Africa. Concurrent benefits are excluded from this tax incentive, to prevent a double reward for the same activity. Although the prevention of double benefits is commonly addressed in the field of measurement and verification (M&V), non-technical guidelines are not available. This is a critical shortcoming since multiple professions (tax, audit and legal) need to understand the technical M&V requirements of S12L. This study reviews the current legislation and interpretations of concurrent benefits in terms of S12L. It shows that multiple energy-related incentives are utilised by industries and that, therefore, it must be determined if different programmes overlap, so as to create concurrent benefits with S12L. It is then critical to correctly apply M&V practice to ensure exclusion of concurrent benefits. This study also provides a simplified methodology to evaluate concurrency, based on the S12L regulatory requirements and standard M&V methods. Three case studies show how concurrency can occur and how M&V practice is applied to exclude double benefits. The test for concurrency is shown to reduce to the following question: Is the same energy saving funded twice? The tests must be done to ensure no double benefit occurs

Evaluating initial antimicrobial use in an adult intensive care unit at an academic teaching hospital in Pretoria, South Africa

Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally. It is estimated that in hospitals around the world 50% of antimicrobial usage is either unnecessary or inappropriate. The study aimed to explore factors surrounding initially prescribed antibiotics and direct medicine related costs in the adult Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), at Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH). A clinically trained pharmacist was included as part of the multi-disciplinary team and evaluated antibiotics prescribed after admission. These were considered as the initial course of antibiotics. The antimicrobial agents that the patient was admitted with were documented and are referred to as “antibiotics prior to review”. Just less than half of the patients, 23 (44.2%; n = 52) were initiated on antibiotics on the first day of admission to the MICU. The majority of antibiotics 46 (60.5%) were prescribed appropriately during the study period. The total cost of initial antibiotic use for the treatment period during the study was R209 140.40, with an average cost of R31 240.77 per day for all initial antibiotics. A coordinated effort from the infectious diseases specialist and clinical pharmacist within the multi-disciplinary team, assisted in appropriate prescribing of antibiotics to patients that were admitted to the MIC