Our Story...
The King Guide to Parenteral Admixtures was first published in 1971 by James C.King, Ph.D., to provide a comprehensive compilation of data on the compatibility of parenteral drug admixtures. Today, King Guide includes compatibility data for parenteral medication administered in various patient care settings, including homecare environments.
Dr. King's goal in publishing King Guide was to provide practitioners with a comprehensive, timely, and authoritative reference on parenteral admixtures. He designed King Guide so that updated information could be added easily to the original compilation of information. Beginning with the first year of publication, quarterly supplements have been an integral and valued feature of "his Guide". Quarterly supplements to King Guide are published to keep the contents up-to-date. Dr. King envisioned King Guide as the replacement for numerous compatibility charts that were in use in the 1960's. He viewed those compilations as inadequate in supporting the needs of practitioners seeking current compatibility and stability information about parenterals.
The initial body of information that was published as King Guide in 1971 was summarized by Dr. King from references one through twenty-four. Most of those initial references were recompilations of even earlier reports, so ascertaining the original sources was difficult. Therefore any unreferenced remark or notation in any of the monographs is derived from one of these first twenty-four references. All other data entries are individually referenced. Soon after the initial publication of King Guide , a number of pharmacists and nurses requested a mechanism whereby they could share their observations on extemporaneous parenteral admixtures.
Over the years, literally hundreds of practitioners have reported their observations to King Guide . These contributions to King Guide are recognized in the references as personal communications. These practitioners' willingness to share their experiences with us is greatly appreciated, and has added an important practical dimension to King Guide. When Dr. King retired in 1992, he asked Dr. Pat Catania to help him by serving as Contributing Editor.
The King Guide is now published by Dr. King's daughter, Elizabeth Hudnell, president of King Guide Publications, Inc. As King Guide approaches its fourth decade of usage by practitioners, Dr. Catania, and all of us at King Guide Publications will continue Dr. King's plan - to provide a comprehensive, timely, and authoritative reference on parenteral drug compatibility.
Since 1992, the King Guide has been transformed into a reference available in just about every media. In addition to the original updateable loose-leaf edition, the King Guide is now available in bound, CD-ROM, Internet, and PDA formats. In addition, the King Guide is available on other drug information resources as a licensed addition to create powerful all-in-one references.