Letters to the Editor Indian Pediatrics 2005; 42:963 |
Meropenem in Neonates |
Over the last 2 years we had 7 cases of blood culture positive Klebsiella and 3 cases of E. coli resistant to all antibiotics, except meropenem, referred from peripheral hospital. Out of ten cases, 4 had meningitis, one had brain abscess and the rest had fulminant sepsis. Meropenem was given over a variable period from 10-21 days at a dose of 20 mg/kg/dose 12th hourly for babies less than 7 days and 8 hourly for babies above 7 days old. Except two, all cases responded well and survived. There was no thrombocytopenia or any serious complications. CSF penetration was excellent and all the resistant cases of meningitis responded to treatment. Vials containing 500 mg of the drug are suitable in the newborn period. The drug after reconstitution is stable only for 48 hours of refrigeration at 4ºC. However, a word of caution is that the drug should be reserved for use only when resistance to other antibiotics has been documented or when conventional therapy fails. P.M.C. Nair, Professor of Pediatrics and Head, Neonatal Division, SAT Hospital Medical College, Trivandrum 695 001, Kerala, India. E-mail: [email protected]
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