This is an executive summary of a workshop on the management and counseling issues of women anticipated to deliver at a periviable gestation (broadly defined as 20 0/7 through 25 6/7 weeks of gestation), and the treatment options for the newborn. Upon review of the available literature, the workshop panel noted that the rates of neonatal survival and neurodevelopmental disabilities among the survivors vary greatly across the periviable gestations and are significantly influenced by the obstetric and neonatal management practices (for example, antenatal steroid, tocolytic agents and antibiotic administration; cesarean birth; and local protocols for perinatal care, neonatal resuscitation and intensive care support). These are, in turn, influenced by the variations in local and regional definitions of limits of viability. Because of the complexities in making difficult management decisions, obstetric and neonatal teams should confer prior to meeting with the family, when feasible. Family counseling should be coordinated with the goal of creating mutual trust, respect and understanding, and should incorporate evidence-based counseling methods. Since clinical circumstances can change rapidly with increasing gestational age, counseling should include discussion of the benefits and risks of various maternal and neonatal interventions at the time of counseling. There should be a plan for follow-up counseling as clinical circumstances evolve. The panel proposed a research agenda and recommended developing educational curricula on the care and counseling of families facing the birth of a periviable infant.
Background
Suspected or complicated intra-abdominal infections are common in young infants and lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Meropenem is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent with excellent activity against pathogens associated with intra-abdominal infections in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics (PK) of meropenem in young infants as a basis for optimizing dosing and minimizing adverse events.
Methods
Premature and term infants <91 days of age hospitalized in 24 neonatal intensive care units were studied. Limited PK sampling was performed following single and multiple doses of meropenem 20–30 mg/kg of body weight every 8–12 hours based on postnatal and gestational age at birth. Population and individual patient (Bayesian) PK parameters were estimated using NONMEM®.
Results
Two hundred infants were enrolled and received study drug. One hundred eighty-eight infants with 780 plasma meropenem concentrations were analyzed. Their median (range) gestational age at birth and postnatal age at PK evaluation were 28 (23–40) weeks and 21 (1–92) days, respectively. In the final PK model, meropenem clearance (CL) was strongly associated with serum creatinine (SCR) and postmenstrual age (PMA) (CL [L/h/kg] = 0.12*[(0.5/SCR)**0.27]*[(PMA/32.7)**1.46]). Meropenem concentrations remained >4 μg/mL for 50% of the dose interval and >2 μg/mL for 75% of the dose interval in 96% and 92% of patients, respectively. The estimated penetration of meropenem into the cerebrospinal fluid was 70% (5–148).
Conclusions
Meropenem dosing strategies based on postnatal and gestational age achieved therapeutic drug exposure in almost all infants.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.