Critical Care Pharmacy Handbook

Introduction

The Clinical Pharmacy Working Committee (Critical Care Pharmacy Subspecialty) published the first Critical Care Pharmacy Handbook in 2013, which has since served as a quick and comprehensive reference guide. In 2020, a second edition of the handbook was published.

• Yup, it is a bit strange to think that the local pharmacy references that were heavily relied upon during provisional registered pharmacist training have now been updated to newer editions.

FAST HUGS BID

In 2005, Jean-Louis Vincent introduced the "FAST HUG" mnemonic as a means of identifying and checking some of the key aspects in the general care of all critically ill patients.

• Feeding
• Analgesia
• Sedation
• Thromboembolic prophylaxis
• Head-of-bed elevation
• stress Ulcer prevention
• Glucose control

This was subsequently updated to "FAST HUGS BID" mnemonic by Vincent and Hatton.

• Feeding
• Analgesia
• Sedation
• Thromboembolic prophylaxis
• Head-up
• Ulcer prophylaxis
• Glycaemic control
• Spontaneous breathing trial
• Bowel movement
• Indwelling catheter
• Drug de-escalation

External Links

• Give your patient a fast hug (at least) once a day, 2005
  
• Critically ill patients need "FAST HUGS BID" (an updated mnemonic), 2009
  
• A Standardized, Structured Approach to Identifying Drug-Related Problems in the Intensive Care Unit: FASTHUG-MAIDENS, 2011
  
• FAST HUGS BID: Modified Mnemonic for Surgical Patient, 2017
  
• Critical Care Pharmacy Handbook, 2020