Ten things I know you know about Infectious Diseases at ...



Ten things I know you know about Infectious Diseases at Wollongong Hospital

1. : Has everything I’m about to tell you and much more, usually in the last (or first) columns.

2. Antibiotic restriction policy: Must be followed but is a bit hard to find. From the homepage click on Infection Control >> SHN IMACS (at the bottom of the page) >> Guidelines. It’s first in the list.

3. CIAP: Is easy to find from the home page and you shouldn’t bother asking questions that can be answered from the antibiotic guidelines at the CIAP >> Medicines information >> Therapeutic guidelines (eTG) link.

4. Drug interactions: Between antibiotics and other drugs are common and should always be checked (I always do), otherwise, if you prescribe it, you carry the can for potentially fatal mistakes. Go to CIAP >> MIMS >> MIMS drug alert

5. Gentamicin: If your first dose is 240 mg then I know you haven’t checked it. There’s a mg/kg starting dose based on age that is then reduced on a sliding scale if the renal function isn’t 100% normal. It’s always given at 2100 hrs (except for emergency dosing) and the first level is checked the next morning. Direct links for GFR, starting dose and dose adjustment are on .

6. GFR: Old people (especially women) rarely have normal renal function even with a normal creatinine, and the eGFR cannot be used to adjust antibiotic doses. You must calculate GFR using the Cockroft Gault GFR calculator and then check the “Renal dosing” for all antibiotics, both at .

7. ID admissions: ID is taking inpatients for the first time in 2010; the list of what we do and don’t accept may change over time and is up at .

8. Infection Management and Control Service (IMACS): Yamin Oo is our registrar this year on pager 323 and/or via Lisa on extension 5898. The consultants are Craig Boutlis, Nick Adams and Hong Foo. We work closely with our infection control nurses (please do what they tell you).

9. TACT referrals: Of hospital patients become virtual inpatients under an ID consultant on the TACT service so they ALWAYS require referral to ID first.

10. Vancomycin: Dosing and measurement of levels is covered at and depends heavily on renal function. Give it at 1000 and 2200 hours and do your trough levels between 8 and 10 am (aim for 10-20 mg/L for usual infections; 15-25 mg/L for severe infections).

(In case I forget, or you lose this, then it’s available on )

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