Adjustment of Antibiotic Dosage in Pediatric Oncology Patients With Febrile Neutropenia and Augmented Renal Clearance

Summary

This clinical trial focuses on children with cancer who face infections after receiving chemotherapy. Chemotherapy affects the bone marrow, leading to a decrease in the production of certain white blood cells, particularly those that defend against bacterial infections (neutrophils). One significant concern is febrile neutropenia, where children experience a fever during a period of low white blood cell count. This condition often results from bacterial infections, necessitating prompt wide-spectrum antibiotic treatment. However, some children eliminate antibiotics in the urine too quickly during febrile neutropenia. Their kidneys function more than they normally do (renal hyperfiltration). This can lead to insufficient exposure to antibiotics to control the infection. The current standard antibiotic regimens do not account for this variable elimination rate. In this study we focus on two antibiotics used in this context: piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem. The main questions this study aims to answer are, in these children: * Would higher doses of antibiotics result in better blood levels of antibiotics? * Would they have more sides effects with higher antibiotics dosages? * Would they recover more quickly with higher antibiotic doses? All patients will undergo a blood test upon hospital arrival, including an assessment of renal function. If renal function is normal or diminished, the patient will receive the standard antibiotic dose. Children with increased renal function will be randomly assigned to two groups during each episode of febrile neutropenia. One group will receive standard antibiotic dosages, while the other will receive higher doses to compensate for renal hyperfiltration. Throughout the study, antibiotic levels in the blood will be monitored for all patients. This monitoring will determine if target concentrations can be achieved more quickly with experimental dosages and will allow doctors to readjust the doses if needed.

Timeline

Start

2024-03-01

Primary completion

2026-03

Completion

2026-03

Publications

• Background Petersson J, Giske CG, Eliasson E. Standard dosing of piperacillin and meropenem fail to achieve adequate plasma concentrations in ICU patients. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2016 Nov;60(10):1425-1436. doi: 10.1111/aas.12808. Epub 2016 Sep 21.
• Background Scharf C, Paal M, Schroeder I, Vogeser M, Draenert R, Irlbeck M, Zoller M, Liebchen U. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Meropenem and Piperacillin in Critical Illness-Experience and Recommendations from One Year in Routine Clinical Practice. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Mar 21;9(3):131. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9030131.
• Background Udy AA, Roberts JA, Lipman J. Implications of augmented renal clearance in critically ill patients. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2011 Jul 19;7(9):539-43. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2011.92.
• Background Hirai K, Ihara S, Kinae A, Ikegaya K, Suzuki M, Hirano K, Itoh K. Augmented Renal Clearance in Pediatric Patients With Febrile Neutropenia Associated With Vancomycin Clearance. Ther Drug Monit. 2016 Jun;38(3):393-7. doi: 10.1097/FTD.0000000000000270.
• Background Imani S, Buscher H, Marriott D, Gentili S, Sandaradura I. Too much of a good thing: a retrospective study of beta-lactam concentration-toxicity relationships. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2017 Oct 1;72(10):2891-2897. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkx209.
• Background McDonald C, Cotta MO, Little PJ, McWhinney B, Ungerer JP, Lipman J, Roberts JA. Is high-dose beta-lactam therapy associated with excessive drug toxicity in critically ill patients? Minerva Anestesiol. 2016 Sep;82(9):957-65. Epub 2016 Apr 7.
• Background de With K, Allerberger F, Amann S, Apfalter P, Brodt HR, Eckmanns T, Fellhauer M, Geiss HK, Janata O, Krause R, Lemmen S, Meyer E, Mittermayer H, Porsche U, Presterl E, Reuter S, Sinha B, Strauss R, Wechsler-Fordos A, Wenisch C, Kern WV. Strategies to enhance rational use of antibiotics in hospital: a guideline by the German Society for Infectious Diseases. Infection. 2016 Jun;44(3):395-439. doi: 10.1007/s15010-016-0885-z.
• Background Andre P, Diezi L, Dao K, Crisinel PA, Rothuizen LE, Chtioui H, Decosterd LA, Diezi M, Asner S, Buclin T. Ensuring Sufficient Trough Plasma Concentrations for Broad-Spectrum Beta-Lactam Antibiotics in Children With Malignancies: Beware of Augmented Renal Clearance! Front Pediatr. 2022 Jan 5;9:768438. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.768438. eCollection 2021.

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