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Background: The incidence of nephrotoxicity among vancomycin-treated neonates has been reported to range from 2% to 20%. These widely varying estimates have led to confusion and controversy regarding the safety of vancomycin among neonates., Objective: Evaluate the incidence of nephrotoxicity among neonates receiving vancomycin concomitantly with gentamicin., Design: Retrospective observational cohort study using propensity score matching to provide covariate balance between neonates who did or did not receive vancomycin based on factors known to be related to the development of renal dysfunction., Setting: Hospitals (n=22) throughout the Intermountain West, including a quaternary care children's hospital., Patients: Neonates ≤44 postmenstrual weeks (median gestational age: 31 (IQR 28-36) weeks) receiving intravenous gentamicin with or without exposure to vancomycin from January 2006 to December 2012., Main Outcome Measures: Nephrotoxicity based on the modified Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria for acute kidney injury (AKI) or serum creatinine concentration ≥1.5 mg/dL persisting for ≥48 h., Results: The final cohort was comprised of 1066 neonates (533 receiving vancomycin and gentamicin vs 533 receiving gentamicin). In a propensity score-matched cohort that was well balanced across 16 covariates, AKI was not associated with vancomycin use (16 neonates receiving vancomycin vs 7 controls experienced AKI; OR 1.5; 95% CI 0.6 to 4.0). However, the presence of a patent ductus arteriosus, concomitant non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, ≥1 positive blood cultures, low birth weight and higher severity of illness and risk of mortality scores were associated with an increased risk of nephrotoxicity., Conclusions: These results corroborate several earlier reports and much anecdotal evidence describing the infrequent occurrence of nephrotoxicity in neonates receiving concomitant vancomycin and gentamicin., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/)

Objective: To provide item analyses, estimates of temporal reliability and internal consistency, and examination of the sensitivity and specificity of a traumatic brain injury-screening tool., Participants: Five hundred veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan enrolled in the study, approximately half of whom (248) volunteered. The remaining 252 participants were referred to Veteran Affairs (VA) neuropsychology or polytrauma clinics., Design: This psychometric study constitutes part of a larger 4-year, multisite prospective cohort study of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan., Setting: Five VA medical centers and one VA outpatient clinic., Main Measures: Veteran traumatic brain injury screening tool (VATBIST), a structured diagnostic interview for traumatic brain injury; a military-oriented posttraumatic stress disorder checklist., Results: The VATBIST appeared to have high-internal consistency (0.77) and test-retest reliability (0.80), high sensitivity (0.94) and moderate specificity (0.59). Diagnostic odds ratios for the screening tool ranged from 12.6 for the total sample to 24, when veterans with probable posttraumatic stress disorder were excluded from analysis., Conclusions: The VATBIST appears to be a reliable and valid instrument. The presence of significant posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, however, reduces the accuracy of the measure and highlights the need for careful clinical follow-up of persons who screen positive.