Dosing of Aminoglycosides in Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease Patients Treated with Intermittent Hemodialysis

The indirect effects of CMV reactivation on patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: an evidence mapping

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains a challenging problem, and the impact on the risk of overall mortality (OM) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) in patients following allo-HSCT is still controversial. Utilizing the evidence mapping method, we aimed to assess the effect of CMV infection on outcomes of patients post-transplantation and identify research gaps through systematic reviews (SRs) and clinical studies. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane library databases were searched from inception until 5 July 2022 to identify relevant literature. After systematic literature screening and data extraction, evidence mapping of the effects of CMV reactivation on patients post-allo-HSCT was conducted. Three SRs and 22 clinical studies were included. In one SR, CMV reactivation was associated with an increased risk of mortality (HR 1.46; 95% CI, 1.24-1.72; P ≤ 0.001). In two SRs, CMV reactivation was associated with NRM. One SR reported CMV reactivation was potentially associated with significant protection against relapse in patients with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), but no significant correlation with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was found. Lastly, in one SR CMV reactivation significantly increased the risk of invasive fungal disease (IFD). Most clinical articles reported that CMV reactivation increased the risk of renal dysfunction, poor graft function, re-hospitalization, and bacterial infections. CMV reactivation following allo-HSCT is associated with an increased risk of OM, NRM, IFD, and renal dysfunction, as well as a reduced risk of relapse in patients with AML.

Elimination and penetration of amikacin into urine in patients with decreased glomerular filtration rate

Background

Amikacin monotherapy is recommended for urinary tract infection (UTI) treatment with multi-resistant pathogens. Even though amikacin efficacy in the treatment of UTIs is dependent on its urinary concentration, there are no robust data proving that sufficiently high urinary concentration is reached in patients with reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Methods

A prospective study to monitor amikacin penetration into urine of 70 patients [40 males, median (interquartile range) age 70 (65-79) years] with different levels of glomerular filtration decline, including patients treated by dialysis, was conducted. The bactericidal efficacy of amikacin in urine samples has been evaluated.

Results

Patients with estimated GFR (eGFR) <30 mL/min had significantly lower median amikacin urinary concentration than patients with eGFR >30 mL/min (89.75 vs 186.0 mg/L, P < .0001; 200.5 vs 830.0 mg/L, P < .0001; and 126.0 vs 408.0 mg/L, P < .0001 for minimal, maximal and minimal together with maximal concentrations, respectively). The amount of amikacin eliminated in the first 10-13 h after dose administration was dependent on eGFR (r2 = 0.6144, P < .0001). The urinary concentration of amikacin in patients treated by dialysis was indirectly proportional to pH of urine. The plasma concentrations of amikacin did not correlate with urinary levels in patients in either of the GFR categories. Microbiological evaluation showed that the critical urinary concentration for efficacy of amikacin during UTI monotherapy in patients treated by dialysis is 100 mg/L. We found that 4 out of 11 patients treated by dialysis did not reach this level during the treatment.

Conclusion

Systemic administration of amikacin monotherapy in patients treated by dialysis is questionable as the concentrations of amikacin in their urine are often below the threshold of effectivity. Amikacin plasma concentrations are not a major determinant of amikacin concentration in urine, therefore pulse dosing is neither necessary nor safe in patients treated by dialysis, and may cause undesirable toxicity.