To systematically review the impact of antibiotic therapy in the neonatal period on changes in the gut microbiota and/or antibiotic resistance development.
Data sources were PubMed, Embase, Medline ...and the Cochrane Database, supplemented by manual searches of reference lists. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were included if they provided data on different categories of antibiotic treatment (yes versus no, long versus short duration and/or broad- versus narrow-spectrum regimens) and subsequent changes in the gut microbiota and/or antibiotic resistance development. We evaluated risk of bias using the Cochrane Handbook, adapted to include observational studies. When appropriate, we used the vote-counting method to perform semi-quantitative meta-analyses. We applied the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach to rate the quality of evidence (QoE). Study protocol registration: PROSPERO CRD42015026743.
We included 48 studies, comprising 3 RCTs and 45 observational studies. Prolonged antibiotic treatment was associated with reduced gut microbial diversity in all three studies investigating this outcome (very low QoE). Antibiotic treatment was associated with reduced colonization rates of protective commensal anaerobic bacteria in four of five studies (very low QoE). However, all three categories of antibiotic treatment were associated with an increased risk of antibiotic resistance development, in particular MDR in Gram-negative bacteria, and we graded the QoE for these outcomes as moderate.
We are moderately confident that antibiotic treatment leads to antibiotic resistance development in neonates and it may also induce potentially disease-promoting gut microbiota alterations. Our findings emphasize the need to reduce unnecessary antibiotic treatment in neonates.
The prevalence of obesity in adults and children is rapidly increasing across the world. Several general (patho)physiological alterations associated with obesity have been described, but the specific ...impact of these alterations on drug metabolism and elimination and its consequences for drug dosing remains largely unknown. In order to broaden our knowledge of this area, we have reviewed and summarized clinical studies that reported clearance values of drugs in both obese and non-obese patients. Studies were classified according to their most important metabolic or elimination pathway. This resulted in a structured review of the impact of obesity on metabolic and elimination processes, including phase I metabolism, phase II metabolism, liver blood flow, glomerular filtration and tubular processes. This literature study shows that the influence of obesity on drug metabolism and elimination greatly differs per specific metabolic or elimination pathway. Clearance of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 substrates is lower in obese as compared with non-obese patients. In contrast, clearance of drugs primarily metabolized by uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT), glomerular filtration and/or tubular-mediated mechanisms, xanthine oxidase, N-acetyltransferase or CYP2E1 appears higher in obese versus non-obese patients. Additionally, in obese patients, trends indicating higher clearance values were seen for drugs metabolized via CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6, while studies on high-extraction-ratio drugs showed somewhat inconclusive results. Very limited information is available in obese children, which prevents a direct comparison between data obtained in obese children and obese adults. Future clinical studies, especially in children, adolescents and morbidly obese individuals, are needed to extend our knowledge in this clinically important area of adult and paediatric clinical pharmacology.
No data support the suggestion that first-trimester dydrogesterone use increases the risk of fetal abnormalities; however, two low-quality retrospective studies (one retracted by the journal) have ...suggested such a link. A scoping review and meta-analysis were carried out to address this discrepancy. The literature was reviewed but it was not possible to identify any evidence of a plausible mechanism for potential causality between dydrogesterone and fetal abnormalities. To investigate whether any evidence existed, a preliminary meta-analysis was undertaken of clinical studies published since 2005 on first-trimester dydrogesterone use with assessment of fetal abnormalities. A fixed effects model was used to determine pooled odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). From 83 articles identified, six randomized controlled trials were included. Pooled risk ratios (RR) for maternal dydrogesterone use and fetal abnormalities gave a RR approaching 1 (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.57, 1.62), confirming previous conclusions of no causal association between fetal abnormalities and first-trimester dydrogesterone use. Physicians, scientists and journal reviewers should exercise due diligence to prevent promulgation of retracted data. We are confident in using dydrogesterone, if indicated, in the treatment of threatened or recurrent miscarriage, and believe that its favourable safety profile should extend to its appropriate use in assisted reproductive technologies.
To systematically review and meta-analyse the relationship between antibiotic exposure in neonates and the following early adverse outcomes: necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), invasive fungal ...infections (IFIs) and/or death.
Data sources were PubMed, Embase, Medline and the Cochrane Database (to December 2016), supplemented by manual searches of reference lists. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were included if they provided data on different categories of antibiotic exposures (yes versus no, long versus short duration, and/or broad- versus narrow-spectrum regimens) and the risk of developing NEC, IFI and/or death in the neonatal period. Two reviewers extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias using the Cochrane Handbook, adapted to include observational studies. When appropriate, meta-analyses were conducted using the random-effect model.
We identified 9 RCTs and 38 observational studies. The quality of the majority of studies was poor to moderate. There was a significant association between prolonged antibiotic exposure and an increased risk of NEC in five observational studies (5003 participants) and/or risk of death in five observational studies (13 534 participants). Eleven of 15 studies with data on broad- versus narrow-spectrum regimens reported an increased risk of IFI after broad-spectrum antibiotic exposure, in particular with third-generation cephalosporins and carbapenems. Meta-analysis was limited by few and old RCTs, insufficient sample sizes and diversity of antibiotic exposure and outcomes reported.
Prolonged antibiotic exposure in uninfected preterm infants is associated with an increased risk of NEC and/or death, and broad-spectrum antibiotic exposure is associated with an increased risk of IFI.
Pregnancy is associated with physiological changes that may impact drug pharmacokinetics (PK). The goals of this study were to build maternal-fetal physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models ...for acyclovir and emtricitabine, 2 anti(retro)viral drugs with active renal net secretion, and to (1) evaluate the predicted maternal PK at different stages of pregnancy; (2) predict the changes in PK target parameters following the current dosing regimen of these drugs throughout pregnancy; (3) evaluate the predicted concentrations of these drugs in the umbilical vein at delivery; (4) compare the model performance for predicting maternal PK of emtricitabine in the third trimester with that of previously published PBPK models; and (5) compare different previously published approaches for estimating the placental permeability of these 2 drugs. Results showed that the pregnancy PBPK model for acyclovir predicted all maternal concentrations within a 2-fold error range, whereas the model for emtricitabine predicted 79% of the maternal concentrations values within that range. Extrapolation of these models to earlier stages of pregnancy indicated that the change in the median PK target parameters remained well above the target threshold. Concentrations of acyclovir and emtricitabine in the umbilical vein were overall adequately predicted. The comparison of different emtricitabine PBPK models suggested an overall similar predictive performance in the third trimester, but the comparison of different approaches for estimating placental drug permeability revealed large differences. These models can enhance the understanding of the PK behavior of renally excreted drugs, which may ultimately inform pharmacotherapeutic decision making in pregnant women and their fetuses.
The "Pediatric Dose Selection" workshop was held in October 2020 and sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the University of Maryland Center for Excellence in Regulatory Science and ...Innovation. A summary of the presentations in the context of pediatric drug development is summarized in this article.