Practical considerations in emergency drug therapy.

Drug therapy is integral to emergency and critical care medicine but can also be the source of serious medical errors. There are important considerations with regard to drug, route, and interactions that require close attention in critical patients. The continuous development of new therapeutics and new information concerning current therapies requires practitioners to continually review drug therapies. This article addresses general guidelines, routes of administration, dosage calculations, interactions, monitoring recommendations, and resources available to help clinicians improve their drug therapy practices.