Lessons Learned in Antibiotic Stewardship: Fluoroquinolone Use in Pediatrics

Colony stimulating factors for prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in children

INTRODUCTION

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is one of the complications of chemotherapy that can increase the risk of infection and mortality. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) are used in practice to prevent and treat episodes of neutropenia. The use of G-CSFs in children with cancer has not been studied much for primary prophylaxis of FN.

AREAS COVERED

Current data suggest that G-CSFs have a similar pharmacokinetic profile in children and adults. Clinical trials published from 2002 to 2021 using G-CSFs in pediatric cancer patients were reviewed. All evaluated clinical trials used a dosage of 5 mcg/kg of filgrastim daily until neutrophil recovery or a single dose of 100 mcg/kg pegfilgrastim. Filgrastim demonstrated the benefit in decreasing the duration of fever, hospital stay, and antibiotic use in high-risk neuroblastoma patients. Pegfilgrastim showed similar efficacy in reducing the occurrence of FN and infections, with bone pain as an adverse effect.

EXPERT OPINION

Filgrastim 5 mcg/kg/day or pegfilgrastim 100 mcg/kg single dose is appropriate when given at least 24 hours or after the chemotherapy in pediatric patients who weigh 45 kg or more. More prospective randomized trials are necessary to further investigate the efficacy and safety of G-CSFs in children with different types of cancer.

Creation of a Combination Antibiogram for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

OBJECTIVE

This study describes the creation of a combination antibiogram directed toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa to determine the most appropriate empiric antimicrobial regimen(s).

METHODS

P aeruginosa isolates were collected from all sites between January 2013 and December 2017 for patients admitted to the PICU. Patients with cystic fibrosis and isolates from the same site and susceptibility pattern obtained within 30 days were excluded. β-Lactam susceptibilities were determined and compared with the addition of an aminoglycoside or fluroquinolone and summarized in a combination antibiogram.

RESULTS

One hundred ninety-nine P aeruginosa isolates were included for analysis. The addition of a second agent to piperacillin-tazobactam was shown to have the most significant improvement among the β-lactams, with 70% susceptibility as monotherapy and increases to above 90% with the addition of an aminoglycoside or fluroquinolone. The addition of an aminoglycoside or fluroquinolone to cefepime and meropenem increased coverage to above 95%. The addition of a second agent was likely to increase susceptibility of a monotherapy backbone; however, as the susceptibility of the first-line agent decreased, the susceptibility of the second agent needed to be higher to achieve a 95% coverage threshold.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results support use of a second agent to significantly improve the likelihood of appropriate empiric coverage of P aeruginosa. Use of a combination antibiogram may be more beneficial than a simple antibiogram for units with increasing resistance rates, or for coverage of specific resistant organisms.

Carbapenem stewardship program in a French university children's hospital

INTRODUCTION

Carbapenems, last-resort antibiotics, are widely used as first-line treatment in patients carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) Enterobacteriaceae, including in a pediatric setting. We aimed to implement an antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) to improve the use of carbapenems.

METHODS

We implemented an ASP at the Bordeaux Children's University Hospital with 6-month audits on prescribing practice before and after an intervention (revision of antibiotic treatment protocols, a half-day educational session with feedback of the first study period). The number of carbapenem prescriptions was analyzed and two criteria were used to assess conformity of the indication for carbapenem prescription and conformity of the reassessment. A logistic regression was used to assess the overall compliance of carbapenem prescriptions over the two periods adjusted for ESBL carriage.

RESULTS

A total of 57 patients were included with 37 carbapenem prescriptions before the intervention and 23 after. Overall carbapenem consumption decreased from 0.54 prescriptions per 100 admissions to 0.32 (p = 0.06). Conformity increased during the study for indication (46-87%, p = 0.004) and for reassessment (48-78%, p = 0.04) and was significantly associated with the second study period, after adjustment for ESBL carriage.

CONCLUSION

Our intervention contributed to a significant improvement in the compliance to indications for carbapenem indication and in the reassessment of the prescription.

Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics and Tendon Injury in Adolescents

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the association between fluoroquinolone use and tendon injury in adolescents.

METHODS

We conducted an active-comparator, new-user cohort study using population-based claims data from 2000 to 2018. We included adolescents (aged 12-18 years) with an outpatient prescription fill for an oral fluoroquinolone or comparator broad-spectrum antibiotic. The primary outcome was Achilles, quadricep, patellar, or tibial tendon rupture identified by diagnosis and procedure codes. Tendinitis was a secondary outcome. We used weighting to adjust for measured confounding and a negative control outcome to assess residual confounding.

RESULTS

The cohort included 4.4 million adolescents with 7.6 million fills for fluoroquinolone (275 767 fills) or comparator (7 365 684) antibiotics. In the 90 days after the index antibiotic prescription, there were 842 tendon ruptures and 16 750 tendinitis diagnoses (crude rates 0.47 and 9.34 per 1000 person-years, respectively). The weighted 90-day tendon rupture risks were 13.6 per 100 000 fluoroquinolone-treated adolescents and 11.6 per 100 000 comparator-treated adolescents (fluoroquinolone-associated excess risk: 1.9 per 100 000 adolescents; 95% confidence interval -2.6 to 6.4); the corresponding number needed to treat to harm was 52 632. For tendinitis, the weighted 90-day risks were 200.8 per 100 000 fluoroquinolone-treated adolescents and 178.1 per 100 000 comparator-treated adolescents (excess risk: 22.7 per 100 000; 95% confidence interval 4.1 to 41.3); the number needed to treat to harm was 4405.

CONCLUSIONS

The excess risk of tendon rupture associated with fluoroquinolone treatment was extremely small, and these events were rare. The excess risk of tendinitis associated with fluoroquinolone treatment was also small. Other more common potential adverse drug effects may be more important to consider for treatment decision-making, particularly in adolescents without other risk factors for tendon injury.

Association of Fluoroquinolone Use With Short-term Risk of Development of Aortic Aneurysm

Importance

Although fluoroquinolones are commonly prescribed antibiotics in the US, recent international studies have shown an increased risk of aortic aneurysm and dissection after fluoroquinolone use, leading to US Food and Drug Administration warnings limiting use for high-risk patients. It is unclear whether these data are true for the US population and who is truly high risk.

Objective

To assess aortic aneurysm and dissection risks in a heterogeneous US population after fluoroquinolone use.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Prescription fills for fluoroquinolones or a comparator antibiotic from 2005 to 2017 among commercially insured individuals aged 18 to 64 years were identified in this retrospective analysis of MarketScan health insurance claims. This cohort study included 27 827 254 US adults (47 596 545 antibiotic episodes), aged 18 to 64 years, with no known previous aortic aneurysm or dissection, no recent antibiotic exposure, and no recent hospitalization.

Exposures

Outpatient fill of an oral fluoroquinolone or comparator antibiotic (amoxicillin-clavulanate, azithromycin, cephalexin, clindamycin, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim).

Main Outcomes and Measures

The 90-day incidence of aortic aneurysm and dissection. Inverse probability of treatment weighting in Cox regression was used to estimate the association between fluoroquinolone fill and 90-day aneurysm incidence. Interaction terms were used to assess the association of known risk factors (ie, sex, age, and comorbidities) with aneurysm after fluoroquinolone use. Data analysis was performed March 2019 to May 2020.

Results

Of 47 596 545 prescription fills, 9 053 961 (19%) were fluoroquinolones and 38 542 584 (81%) were comparator antibiotics. The median (interquartile range) age of adults with fluoroquinolone fills was 47 (36-57) years vs 43 (31-54) years with comparator antibiotic fills. Women comprised 61.3% of fluoroquinolone fills and 59.5% of comparator antibiotic fills. Before weighting, the 90-day incidence of newly diagnosed aneurysm was 7.5 cases per 10 000 fills (6752 of 9 053 961) after fluoroquinolones compared with 4.6 cases per 10 000 fills (17 627 of 38 542 584) after comparator antibiotics. After weighting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities, fluoroquinolone fills were associated with increased incidence of aneurysm formation (hazard ratio [HR], 1.20; 95% CI, 1.17-1.24). More specifically, compared with comparator antibiotics, fluoroquinolone fills were associated with increased 90-day incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.25-1.37), iliac artery aneurysm (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.33-1.91), and other abdominal aneurysm (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.39-1.79), and adults were more likely to undergo aneurysm repair (HR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.44-2.46). When stratified by age, all adults 35 years or older appeared at increased risk (18-34 years: HR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.83-1.18]; 35-49 years: HR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.09-1.28]; 50-64 years: HR, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.19-1.28]; P = .04).

Conclusions and Relevance

This study found that fluoroquinolones were associated with increased incidence of aortic aneurysm formation in US adults. This association was consistent across adults aged 35 years or older, sex, and comorbidities, suggesting fluoroquinolone use should be pursued with caution in all adults, not just in high-risk individuals.

Optimizing the Use of Antibiotic Agents in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Narrative Review

Antibiotics are one of the most prescribed drug classes in the pediatric intensive care unit, yet the incidence of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing remains high in critically ill children. Optimizing the use of antibiotics in this population is imperative to guarantee adequate treatment, avoid toxicity and the occurrence of antibiotic resistance, both on a patient level and on a population level. Antibiotic stewardship encompasses all initiatives to promote responsible antibiotic usage and the PICU represents a major target environment for antibiotic stewardship programs. This narrative review provides a summary of the available knowledge on the optimal selection, duration, dosage, and route of administration of antibiotic treatment in critically ill children. Overall, more scientific evidence on how to optimize antibiotic treatment is warranted in this population. We also give our personal expert opinion on research priorities.

Outpatient Fluoroquinolone Use in Children, 2000-2018

BACKGROUND

While fluoroquinolones are commonly used in adults, the use in children has been low. Since 2000, there were 3 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Boxed warnings regarding fluoroquinolones (2008, 2013, and 2016). Our objective was to describe the use of fluoroquinolones in children and assess the impact of 3 recent FDA warnings on fluoroquinolone use.

METHODS

From 2000 to 2018, we assessed claims for all outpatient prescription fills to measure the use of systemic fluoroquinolones and other broad-spectrum antibiotics in children  less than 18 years old in the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database. We describe demographics, indication for antibiotic, and clinical characteristics. To assess the impact of FDA warnings on fill rates, we conducted an interrupted time-series analysis.

RESULTS

The cohort included 34.6 million unique beneficiaries less than 18 years old with 441 062 fluoroquinolone fills (5.5 fills per 1000 person-years). The fluoroquinolone fill rate was highest among children > 11 years old. Urinary tract infection was the most common associated diagnosis (21.8%). Since 2008, the fluoroquinolone fill rate has declined. By the end of the study period in December 2018, in the (counterfactual) absence of the FDA warnings, fluoroquinolone fill rate would have been 7.5 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.2-9.7); however, the corresponding rate in observed data was 2.8 (95% CI: 1.7-3.9).

CONCLUSIONS

Fluoroquinolone use was low compared with other common broad-spectrum antibiotics and declining trends over time were associated with FDA warnings, even though these warnings were not pediatric specific. Future work should assess the adverse events at issue in these warnings in children.

Real-world safety evaluation of musculoskeletal adverse events associated with Korean pediatric fluoroquinolone use: a nationwide longitudinal retrospective cohort study

Though the pediatric use of fluoroquinolones (FQs) is limited for musculoskeletal safety concerns, the clinical usefulness still exists. This study examined the association between FQs and musculoskeletal adverse events (AEs) as well as the possible risk factors associated with the pediatric FQs uses. This population-based, longitudinal, retrospective study was conducted using Korean National Sample Cohort database originating between 2002 and 2015. An FQ-treated pediatric cohort (<18 years old) was compared to a control treated with amoxicillin. Propensity score matching (PSM) and a Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for a diagnosis of musculoskeletal AEs within 60 days of the first prescription. Among one million participants, total of 15,706 and 147,840 children were eligible for the FQ and amoxicillin cohorts, respectively. The PSM cohorts showed a slightly increased risk of musculoskeletal AEs after FQ treatment (HR, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.40; p = 0.042). This association was stronger in males, older patients, and some FQs users. This study indicates that pediatric FQ use is associated with a risk of musculoskeletal AEs and that FQ use should be carefully monitored in groups with certain risk factors. Well-designed pragmatic trials could be expected to clarify these issues.

Oral Fluoroquinolone Administration and Interacting Substances: The Pediatric Diet Dilemma

Concomitant administration of enteral fluoroquinolones (FQs) with divalent or trivalent cation-containing compounds results in a reduction in FQ bioavailability. A review of enteral FQ administration with regards to the timing of divalent or trivalent cation-containing compounds in pediatric patients revealed a high number of inappropriately administered FQs. Suggestions for reducing the number of inappropriately timed FQ administrations are presented here.

Leveraging Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Emergency Department to Improve the Quality of Urinary Tract Infection Management and Outcomes

BACKGROUND

The complex and fast-paced emergency department (ED) practice setting presents unique challenges that demand a tailored approach to antimicrobial stewardship. In this article, we describe the strategies applied by 1 institution's antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) that were successful in improving prescribing practices and outcomes for urinary tract infection (UTI) in the ED.

METHODS

Core strategies included pre-implementation research characterizing the patient population, antimicrobial resistance patterns, prescribing behavior, and morbidity related to infection; collaboration across multiple disciplines; development and implementation of a UTI treatment algorithm; education to increase awareness of the algorithm and the background and rationale supporting it; audit and feedback; and early evaluation of post-implementation outcomes.

RESULTS

We observed a rapid change in prescribing post-implementation with increased empiric nitrofurantoin use and reduced cephalosporin use (P < .05). Our elevation of nitrofurantoin to firstline status was supported by our post-implementation analysis showing that its use was independently associated with reduced 30-day return visits (adjusted odds ratio, 0.547; 95% confidence interval, 0.312-0.960). Furthermore, despite a shift to a higher risk population and a corresponding decrease in antimicrobial susceptibility rates post-implementation, the preferential use of nitrofurantoin did not result in higher bug-drug mismatches while 30-day return visits to the ED remained stable.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate that an outcomes-based ASP can impart meaningful change to knowledge and attitudes affecting prescribing practices in the ED. The success of our program may be used by other institutions as support for ASP expansion to the ED.

Safety Concerns Surrounding Quinolone Use in Children

Fluoroquinolones are highly effective antibiotics with many desirable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties including high bioavailability, large volume of distribution, and a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Despite their attractive profile as anti-infective agents, their use in children is limited, primarily due to safety concerns. In this review we highlight the pharmacological properties of fluoroquinolones and describe their current use in pediatrics. In addition, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the safety data associated with fluoroquinolone use in children. Although permanent or destructive arthropathy remains a significant concern, currently available data demonstrate that arthralgia and arthropathy are relatively uncommon in children and resolve following cessation of fluoroquinolone exposure without resulting in long-term sequelae. The concern for safety and risk of adverse events associated with pediatric fluoroquinolone use is likely driving the limited prescribing of this drug class in pediatrics. However, in adults, fluoroquinolones are the most commonly prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics, resulting in the development of drug-resistant bacteria that can be challenging to treat effectively. The consequence of misuse and overuse of fluoroquinolones leading to drug resistance is a greater, but frequently overlooked, safety concern that applies to both children and adults and one that should be considered at the point of prescribing.

Surveillance of bloodstream infections in pediatric cancer centers - what have we learned and how do we move on?

Pediatric patients receiving conventional chemotherapy for malignant disease face an increased risk of bloodstream infection (BSI). Since BSI may represent an acute life-threatening event in patients with profound immunosuppression, and show further negative impact on quality of life and anticancer treatment, the prevention of BSI is of paramount importance to improve and guarantee patients' safety during intensive treatment. The great majority of all pediatric cancer patients (about 85%) have a long-term central venous access catheter in use (type Broviac or Port; CVAD). Referring to the current surveillance definitions a significant proportion of all BSI in pediatric patients with febrile neutropenia is categorized as CVAD-associated BSI. This state of the art review summarizes the epidemiology and the distinct pathogen profile of BSI in pediatric cancer patients from the perspective of infection surveillance. Problems in executing the current surveillance definition in this patient population are discussed and a new concept for the surveillance of BSI in pediatric cancer patients is outlined.

Bacteremia in children: epidemiology, clinical diagnosis and antibiotic treatment

The diagnosis of bacteremia in children is important and it can be clinically challenging to recognize the signs and symptoms. The reported rates of bacteremia are higher in young children but with the increasing vaccine coverage, there has been a decrease in bacteremia due to the three vaccine preventable bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae group b and Neisseria meningitidis). Notably, there have been increases in healthcare-associated bacteremias with a rise in Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative bacteremias. This review provides a brief overview of the clinical diagnosis of bacteremia in children, focusing on the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, risk factors, antibiotic treatment, outcomes and preventative measures to reduce the incidence of bacteremia and improve morbidity and mortality.