Major publications in the critical care pharmacotherapy literature: January-December 2016

To summarize select critical care pharmacotherapy guidelines and studies published in 2016.

The Critical Care Pharmacotherapy Literature Update (CCPLU) Group screened 31 journals monthly for relevant pharmacotherapy articles and selected 107 articles for review over the course of 2016. Of those included in the monthly CCPLU, three guidelines and seven primary literature studies are reviewed here. The guideline updates included are as follows: hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia management, sustained neuromuscular blocking agent use, and reversal of antithrombotics in intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). The primary literature summaries evaluate the following: dexmedetomidine for delirium prevention in post-cardiac surgery, dexmedetomidine for delirium management in mechanically ventilated patients, high-dose epoetin alfa after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, ideal blood pressure targets in ICH, hydrocortisone in severe sepsis, procalcitonin-guided antibiotic de-escalation, and empiric micafungin therapy.

The review provides a synopsis of select pharmacotherapy publications in 2016 applicable to clinical practice.