4 & 4 Por Favor Prophylactic Ondansetron and Opioids, a guest post by Emily Richards, PharmD (@EmilyPharmD) Ondansetron is the most documented medication given in emergency departments throughout the United States.1 We have all heard someone ask, “Can I get an order for 4 and 4 for this patient?” in reference to 4 milligram (mg) of intravenous (IV) morphine and 4 mg of IV ondansetron. It has become common practice in many institutions to provide a [...]

The Dark Arts of Pharmacokinetics It’s ok to give 1 gram of vancomycin. As long as they’re obese and the dosing interval is adjusted to follow the two compartment distribution model of vancomycin. Single, double or triple? In terms of vancomycin dosing kinetics, it’s an important question.  Pharmacokinetic teachings tell us to select the simplest model and fewest compartments necessary to describe the data adequately. Thus the single compartment model is frequently used in initial [...]

How does a drug become a controlled substance The FDA is wacky. Around every corner, there seems to be another head scratching approval, denial, process or event. Answering a simple question took me down a new enlightening, and hilarious path. Now, this may sound Seinfeld-ish but ‘what’s the deal with controlled substances?’ Lacosamide is a newer antiepileptic drug that you have likely seen on a medication reconciliation profile of a patient to two in your [...]