Evaluation of the importance of mixing during preparation of antibiotic infusions

Table 3 Concentrations of antibiotic infusions during administration; infusions prepared in both a hospital pharmacy and clinical ward without mixing the final solution

Characteristics			Sample collection time	Hospital pharmacy		Clinical ward		Hospital pharmacy versus clinical ward
Infusion type^a	Declared concentration	Infusion duration	Sample collection time after start of the administration	n^b	Sample concentration, median (IQR) in mg mL⁻¹	n^b	Sample concentration, median (IQR) in mg mL⁻¹	p value^c
Cefuroxime 1500 mg, 66 mL	22.7 mg mL⁻¹	30 min	1 min	6	19.5 (13.2–27.9)	6	23.8 (23.4–24.4)	.240
			15 min		21.2 (14.0–30.2)		23.5 (21.2–25.3)	.937
			20 min		15.7 (15.0–21.2)		22.3 (19.8–25.1)	.093
Flucloxacillin 1000 mg, 70 mL	14.3 mg mL⁻¹	30 min	1 min	6	15.9 (14.6–17.0)	6	16.3 (14.9–17.2)	.818
			15 min		15.7 (14.9–16.6)		16.3 (15.4–18.2)	.485
			20 min		16.1 (14.7–16.9)		16.2 (14.3–17.2)	.818
Meropenem 1000 mg, 70 mL	14.3 mg mL⁻¹	30 min	1 min	6	13.3 (12.6–13.6)	6	13.5 (11.5–13.7)	.818
			15 min		12.9 (12.3–13.2)		13.4 (12.1–13.6)	.310
			20 min		12.1 (11.5–13.1)		13.8 (12.0–13.9)	.240
Vancomycin 1000 mg, 270 mL	3.7 mg mL⁻¹	120 min	1 min	6	3.2 (3.0–3.3)	6	3.3 (3.2–3.6)	.394
			60 min		3.3 (3.2–3.4)		3.3 (3.2–3.6)	.485
			110 min		3.0 (2.8–3.2)		3.2 (3.1–3.6)	.180

IQR Interquartile range
^a Normal saline infusion bags of 50 mL (cefuroxime, flucloxacillin, meropenem) and 250 mL (vancomycin) were used
^b All four antibiotics were produced twice in each environment by three different pharmacy technicians
^c The Mann–Whitney U test was used to estimate p values

ISSN: 2050-6511