title: [Ceftazidime for the treatment of infections in neutropenic children].
abstract: Ceftazidime in doses of 100 mg/kg/day was used, combined with netilmicin 6 mg/kg/day, as first-line treatment in two successive studies conducted on febrile neutropenic children (neutrophils less than 500/mm3). Study n. 1, performed at the Infantile Haematology unit of Saint Louis hospital, Paris, included 75 children. Study n. 2 was a multicentre study involving 88 children from 11 medical centres. The children's age in both studies ranged from 2 months to 16 1/2 years (mean 7 years). The percentage of bacteriologically documented febrile episodes was 45 per cent (34/75 and 39/88), and the most frequent infections were those caused by Gram-positive cocci (56 and 58 per cent respectively of the cases). Vancomycin 40 mg/kg/day was introduced if fever was still present 48 hours after the beginning of the antibiotic therapy. Effective treatments were continued until the neutropenia was corrected. These children were being treated for acute leukaemia, lymphoma, solid tumours or bone marrow aplasia. In study n. 1 apyrexia was obtained in 85 per cent of the cases with the ceftazidime-netilmicin combination and in 91 per cent of the cases after addition of vancomycin. The initial therapy was effective in all patients with a documented infection. There were tow super-infections with septicaemia: one due to Streptococcus D, the other to Staph. epidermidis. In study n. 2 73 per cent of the patients were apyretic after the first combination and 85 per cent after vancomycin was introduced. In proven infections the ceftazidime-netilmicin combination was effective in 30 cases and in another 6 cases after addition of vancomycin. Three patients remained febrile until they came out of aplasia. In all cases the bacterial cultures were sterilized by the ceftazidime-netilmicin combination. There was no superinfection. The mean duration of antibiotic therapy was 21 days in study n. 1 and 14 days in study n. 2. The drugs were perfectly tolerated both clinically and biochemically. No death occurred in the two studies. Thus, owing to its broad spectrum, effectiveness and safety ceftazidime is a very useful antibiotic when combined with netilmicin as first-line treatment of febrile neutropenic children.
authors.affiliation: Unité d'Hématologie infantile, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leverger
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arlet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bancillon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schaison
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000380:Agranulocytosis / Q000150:complications*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002442:Ceftazidime / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D009428:Netilmicin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D009428:Netilmicin; D002442:Ceftazidime
vernacular_title: La ceftazidime pour le traitement des infections chez l'enfant neutropénique.