Standard vancomycin dosing will not work for every patient. Let me walk you through 3 often overlooked patient characteristics that suggests the need for closer scrutiny and off-protocol dosing. This isn’t a post about how to perform detailed vancomycin calculations. It’s about learning how anticipate and be responsive to the body mechanics of patients toContinue reading “How to Dose Vancomycin: When Protocols Fail”
Tag Archives: nursing calculations
Statistics: How to Calculate Specificity in 3 Steps
Specificity is descriptive of a test. It describes the probability that the test will correctly not detect a diagnostic marker in a patient where it is truly absent. Calculating statistical specificity can be done in 3 simple steps. Sensitivity and specificity are often explained together. I think this is mostly done by convention even thoughContinue reading “Statistics: How to Calculate Specificity in 3 Steps”
MUDPILES: The One Shared Trait that Leads to Acidosis
MUDPILES is a long-standing acronym that is used to quickly recall the likely causes of high anion gap metabolic acidosis but it usually stops right there. How do the components cause acidosis? Why is it important to know the how? Understanding vs Memorizing As our patients increasingly present with more complex comorbidities the straight pathwayContinue reading “MUDPILES: The One Shared Trait that Leads to Acidosis”
How to Calculate Milliequivalents in 3 Easy Steps
Why is calculation of milliequivalents so difficult? Dare I say, it is often taught in a way that does not foster understanding. If you are just memorizing equations and canceling out units to calculate milliequivalents we are going to change that. That strategy may be sufficient to pass an exam but isn’t very useful beyondContinue reading “How to Calculate Milliequivalents in 3 Easy Steps”
Ratio Data: How to Analyze Statistics in Medical Literature
Statistics can seem daunting but they cannot be avoided in medical research. If we don’t understand statistical concepts, like ratio data, we are at the mercy of the author’s conclusions. While there are guidelines and peer review processes that help to maintain the integrity of how studies are conducted or reported, there are gaps. PerhapsContinue reading “Ratio Data: How to Analyze Statistics in Medical Literature”