Piperacillin/tazobactam plus ceftazidime versus sulbactam/ampicillin plus aztreonam as empirical therapy for fever in severely neutropenic pediatric patients.
BACKGROUND
The efficacy and safety of piperacillin/tazobactam plus ceftazidime (PIPC/TAZ+CAZ) versus sulbactam/ampicillin plus aztreonam (SBT/ABPC+AZT) as empirical therapy for febrile neutropenia were assessed in children with hematologic disease and solid tumor.


METHODS
A prospective randomized study was performed to evaluate the clinical response of 70 febrile episodes in the PIPC/TAZ+CAZ arm and 64 evaluable febrile episodes in the SBT/ABPC+AZT arm of the study. Clinical efficacy was evaluated at 120 hours, with treatment outcome criteria defined as follows. Success was defined as disappearance of fever, clinical improvement, eradication of the infecting organism, and maintenance of a response for at least 7 days after discontinuation of treatment.


RESULTS
An infection was documented microbiologically in 14 episodes (20%) in the PIPC/TAZ+CAZ arm and in 8 episodes (13%) in the SBT/ABPC+AZT arm. The success rate was 57.1% in the PIPC/TAZ+CAZ arm and 62.5% in the SBT/ABPC+AZT arm (P>0.05). No major adverse effects were observed in the study.


CONCLUSIONS
PIPC/TAZ+CAZ and SBT/ABPC+AZT are effective and safe for initial empirical treatment of febrile episodes in neutropenic pediatric patients. The clinical efficacy of SBT/ABPC+AZT is equivalent or superior to that of PIPC/TAZ+CAZ, the effect of which is already proven against febrile neutropenia. Therefore, SBT/ABPC+AZT may be a treatment of choice for febrile neutropenia in pediatric cancer patients.
Department of Pediatrics, Sapporo Hokuyu Hospital, Sapporo, Japan. r-koba@jacls.jp
Ryoji
R
Kobayashi
Tomonobu
T
Sato
Masahide
M
Nakajima
Makoto
M
Kaneda
Akihiro
A
Iguchi
D000293:Adolescent; D000667:Ampicillin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001398:Aztreonam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D002442:Ceftazidime / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000209:etiology*; D010397:Penicillanic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D010878:Piperacillin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000077725:Piperacillin, Tazobactam Drug Combination; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013407:Sulbactam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D047090:beta-Lactams / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D047090:beta-Lactams; D000077725:Piperacillin, Tazobactam Drug Combination; D000667:Ampicillin; D010397:Penicillanic Acid; D002442:Ceftazidime; D001398:Aztreonam; D013407:Sulbactam; D010878:Piperacillin