scholarly journals Drug utilisation in neonatal units in England and Wales: a national cohort study

Author(s):  
Asma Al-Turkait ◽  
Lisa Szatkowski ◽  
Imti Choonara ◽  
Shalini Ojha

Abstract Purpose To describe drug utilisation patterns in neonatal units. Methods Retrospective observational cohort study using data held in the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD) for neonatal units in England and Wales including infants born at 23 to 44 weeks’ gestational age (GA) from 01 January 2010 to 31 December 2017. Results The cohort included 17,501 (3%) extremely preterm infants; 40,607 (7%) very preterm infants; 193,536 (31%) moderate-to-late preterm infants; and 371,606 (59%) term infants. The number of unique drugs received by an infant (median (IQR)) increased with decreasing GA: 17 (11–24) in extremely preterm, 7 (5–11) in very preterm, 3 (0–4) in moderate-to-late preterm, and 3 (0–3) in term infants. The two most frequently prescribed drugs were benzylpenicillin and gentamicin in all GA groups, and caffeine in extremely preterm. Other frequently used drugs among preterm infants were electrolytes, diuretics and anti-reflux medications. Among infants <32 weeks’ GA, the largest increase in use was for surfactant (given on the neonatal unit), caffeine and probiotics, while domperidone and ranitidine had the largest decline. Conclusion Antibiotics, for all GAs and caffeine, among preterm infants, are the most frequently used drugs in neonatal medicine. Preterm infants are exposed to a high burden of drugs, particularly antibiotics. Changing patterns in use reflect the emergence of evidence in some areas but several non-evidence-based drugs continue to be used widely. Improvements are needed to ensure rational drug use on neonatal units. Registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03773289). Date of registration 21 Dec 2018.

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 969-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wissam Shalish ◽  
Lara Kanbar ◽  
Martin Keszler ◽  
Sanjay Chawla ◽  
Lajos Kovacs ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. e0216498
Author(s):  
Albert Batista Muñoz ◽  
Stephanie Hadley ◽  
Marti Iriondo Sanz ◽  
Thais Agut Quijano ◽  
Marta Camprubí Camprubí

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlies Bruckner ◽  
Zahra Khan ◽  
Christoph Binder ◽  
Nicholas Morris ◽  
Bernadette Windisch ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1511-1513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zemlin ◽  
Karl Bauer ◽  
Michael Hummel ◽  
Sabine Pfeiffer ◽  
Simone Devers ◽  
...  

The immunoglobulin diversity is restricted in fetal liver B cells. This study examined whether peripheral blood B cells of extremely preterm infants show similar restrictions (overrepresentation of some gene segments, short third complementarity-determining regions [CDR3]). DNA of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain genes was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, cloned, and sequenced. A total of 417 sequences were analyzed from 6 preterm infants (25-28 weeks of gestation), 6 term infants, and 6 adults. Gene segments from the entire VHand DH gene locus were rearranged in preterm infants, even though the DH7-27 segment was overrepresented (17% of rearrangements) compared to term infants (7%) and adults (2%). CDR3 was shorter in preterm infants (40 ± 10 nucleotides) than in term infants (44 ± 12) and adults (48 ± 14) (P &lt; .001) due to shorter N regions. Somatic mutations were exclusively found in term neonates and adults (mutational frequency 0.8% and 1.8%). We conclude that preterm infants have no limitations in gene segment usage, whereas the diversity of CDR3 is restricted throughout gestation.


Author(s):  
Tetsuya Isayama ◽  
Daria O'Reilly ◽  
Joseph Beyene ◽  
Shoo K. Lee ◽  
Prakesh S. Shah ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To compare admission and emergency visits of late preterm (340/7–366/7 weeks) versus term infants (370/7–416/7 weeks) in the first 5 years. Study Design This population-based cohort study included all singletons and twins born alive at 340/7 to 416/7 weeks' gestation registered in a health administrative database in Ontario, Canada, between April 1, 2002 and December 31, 2012. Admissions and emergency visits from initial postnatal discharge to 5 years were compared between late preterm and term infants adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics. Results A total of 1,316,931 infants (75,364 late preterm infants) were included. Late preterm infants had more frequent admissions than term infants in the first 5 years in both singletons (adjusted incidence rate ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.46 [1.42–1.49]) and twins (1.21 [1.11–1.31]). The difference in admissions between late preterm and term infants were smaller in twins than singletons and decreased with children's ages. Twins had less frequent admissions than singletons for late preterm infants, but not for term infants. The emergency visits were more frequent in late preterm than term infants in all the periods. Conclusion Admissions and emergency visits were more frequent in late preterm than term infants through the first 5 years. Admissions were less frequent in late preterm twins than singletons.


Author(s):  
Hidehiko Nakanishi ◽  
Hideyo Suenaga ◽  
Atsushi Uchiyama ◽  
Satoshi Kusuda

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) in extremely preterm infants and its impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 3 years of age.DesignA retrospective multicentre cohort study.Settings202 tertiary perinatal centres registered in the Neonatal Research Network of Japan (NRNJ).PatientsInfants born at <28 weeks of gestational age (GA), between 2003 and 2012, were extracted from tertiary perinatal centres participating in NRNJ.Main outcome measuresDemographic characteristics, morbidity, interventions and mortality were compared for infants with and without PPHN. Multivariable logistic analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of PPHN on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes (the prevalence rate of cerebral palsy, need for home oxygen therapy, and visual, hearing and cognitive impairment) at 3 years of age.ResultsThe prevalence of PPHN among the 12 954 extremely preterm infants enrolled was 8.1% (95% CI 7.7% to 8.6%), with the trend increasing annually, and a higher proportion as GA decreased: 18.5% (range, 15.2% to 22.4%) for infants born at 22 weeks compared with 4.4% (range, 3.8% to 5.2%) for those born at 27 weeks. Clinical chorioamnionitis and premature rupture of membranes were associated with PPHN. On multivariate analysis of the data from 5923 infants followed up for 3 years, PPHN was a significant independent risk factor for visual impairment (adjusted OR, 1.42, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.97).ConclusionsThe prevalence of PPHN in extremely preterm infants has been increasing over the past decade in Japan. Clinicians should be aware of visual impairments as a neurodevelopmental abnormality among infants with PPHN.


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