Tobramycin and gentamicin can safely be given by slow push

Safety of intravenous push administration of beta-lactams within a healthcare system

PURPOSE

A critical shortage of small-volume parenteral solutions in late 2017 led hospitals to develop strategies to ensure availability for critical patients, including administration of antibiotics as intravenous push (IVP). Minimal literature has been published to date that assesses the safety of administration of beta-lactams via this route. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of IVP administration of select beta-lactam antibiotics.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective review of IVP administrations of aztreonam, ceftriaxone, cefepime, and meropenem at two campuses of the New York University Langone Health system after October 2017. Patients receiving surgical prophylaxis or more than one IVP antibiotic simultaneously were excluded. The primary endpoint was adverse events (ADE) following IVP administration of antibiotics.

RESULTS

We evaluated 1000 patients who received IVP aztreonam (n = 43), ceftriaxone (n = 544), cefepime (n = 368) or meropenem (n = 45). There were 10 (1%) ADE observed, 5 of which were allergic reactions. Four ADE were neurotoxicity related to IVP cefepime. Based on the Naranjo score, 1 adverse event was "probably" and 3 were "possibly" related to cefepime IVP administration. Lastly, only 1 report of phlebitis was observed with the use of IVP ceftriaxone.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of IVP as an alternative to intravenous piggyback (IVPB) during times of drug shortage for select beta-lactam antibiotics appears to be safe, and ADE are similar to those previously described for IVPB administration. Future studies evaluating clinical outcomes between IVP and IVPB administration may be of benefit.

Ultra-High-Precision, in-vivo Pharmacokinetic Measurements Highlight the Need for and a Route Toward More Highly Personalized Medicine

Clinical drug dosing would, ideally, be informed by high-precision, patient-specific data on drug metabolism. The direct determination of patient-specific drug pharmacokinetics ("peaks and troughs"), however, currently relies on cumbersome, laboratory-based approaches that require hours to days to return pharmacokinetic estimates based on only one or two plasma drug measurements. In response clinicians often base dosing on age, body mass, pharmacogenetic markers, or other indirect estimators of pharmacokinetics despite the relatively low accuracy of these approaches. Here, in contrast, we explore the use of indwelling electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors as a means of measuring pharmacokinetics rapidly and with high precision using a rat animal model. Specifically, measuring the disposition kinetics of the drug tobramycin in Sprague-Dawley rats we demonstrate the seconds resolved, real-time measurement of plasma drug levels accompanied by measurement validation via HPLC-MS on ex vivo samples. The resultant data illustrate the significant pharmacokinetic variability of this drug even when dosing is adjusted using body weight or body surface area, two widely used pharmacokinetic predictors for this important class of antibiotics, highlighting the need for improved methods of determining its pharmacokinetics.

Intravenous Push Administration of Antibiotics: Literature and Considerations

Intravenous (IV) push administration can provide clinical and practical advantages over longer IV infusions in multiple clinical scenarios, including in the emergency department, in fluid-restricted patients, and when supplies of diluents are limited. In these settings, conversion to IV push administration may provide a solution. This review compiles available data on IV push administration of antibiotics in adults, including preparation, stability, and administration instructions. Prescribing information, multiple tertiary drug resources, and primary literature were consulted to compile relevant data. Several antibiotics are Food and Drug Administration-approved for IV push administration, including many beta-lactams. In addition, cefepime, ceftriaxone, ertapenem, gentamicin, and tobramycin have primary literature data to support IV push administration. While amikacin, ciprofloxacin, imipenem/cilastatin, and metronidazole have limited primary literature data on IV push administration, available data do not support that route. In addition, a discussion on practical considerations, such as IV push best practices and pharmacodynamic considerations, is provided.