title: Ampicillin and gentamicin are a useful first-line combination for the management of sepsis in under-five children at an urban hospital in Bangladesh.
abstract: The study evaluated the commonly-used drugs for the management of sepsis and their outcome among under-five children. We evaluated the hospital-records of all paediatric sepsis patients (n = 183) in the intensive care unit (ICU) and longer-stay unit (LSU) of the Dhaka Hospital of icddr,b. These records were collected from the hospital management system (SHEBA) during November 2009 to October 2010. A total of 183 under-five children with clinical sepsis were found during the study period, and 14 (8%) of them were neonates. One hundred and eighty-one patients had received a combination of injection ampicilin and injection gentamicin, and two patients had received the combination of injection ceftriaxone and injection gentamicin. Only 46 (25%) patients required a change of antibiotics to the combination of intravenous ceftriaxone plus gentamicin after non-response of injection ampicilin and injection gentamicin combination; 7/181 (4%) patients died who received injection ampicilin and injection gentamicin whereas none died among the other two patients who received injection ceftriaxone and injection gentamicin (p = 1.00). The combination of injection ampicilin and injection gentamicin as the first-line antibiotics for the management of sepsis in children even beyond the neonatal age is very effective, resulting in lower mortality.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Department, East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bibi
authors.forename: Mohammod Jobayer
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chisti
authors.forename: Farhana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Akram
authors.forename: Mark A C
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pietroni
mesh_terms: D000667:Ampicillin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001459:Bangladesh; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007267:Injections; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005839:Gentamicins; D000667:Ampicillin