Maternal and fetal serum and tissue levels of ceftriaxone following preoperative prophylaxis in emergency cesarean section

Prevention of congenital syphilis using ceftriaxone in a woman with Stevens–Johnson syndrome reaction to penicillin: A case report

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to increase awareness of ceftriaxone as an alternative therapy for the prevention of congenital syphilis (CS) when the mother is allergic to penicillin, especially when desensitization to penicillin cannot be performed or is unsafe.

Case

A 37-year-old pregnant woman who was syphilis positive reacted to penicillin with Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS); her rapid plasma reagin (RPR) was 1:64 at presentation to the infectious disease clinic. CS was prevented with two courses of ceftriaxone: 10 days 1 g IV daily at week 12 followed by 10 days of 250 mg IM daily at week 28 achieved a 4-fold fall in RPR titer to 1:16, indicating cure. Full work-up of the neonate according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) when penicillin is not used in the mother was conducted at birth. In addition to physical exam, syphilis antibodies in blood had an undetectable RPR, a lumbar puncture produced normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and roentgenography of long bones was normal. The child was administered 50,000 units/kg of benzathine penicillin intramuscularly. There were no concerns for allergy or sequela in the mother or neonate at 2-month follow-up with the pediatrician.

Conclusion

The goal of this report is to increase awareness of ceftriaxone as an alternative to penicillin in the prevention of CS and to raise the possibility of adjusting AAP guidelines accordingly. However, studies to determine the best route and timing of therapy are necessary.

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No acceptable alternative to penicillin exists for the prevention of congenital syphilis by the CDC or AAP.

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Not all pregnant women with a penicillin allergy can be desensitized in the intensive-care setting.

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Ceftriaxone use in the mother prevents congenital syphilis in the neonate.

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More studies are needed to optimize the dosing and timing of ceftriaxone administration in such cases.

Phase II trial evaluating the clinical efficacy of cefixime for treatment of active syphilis in non-pregnant women in Brazil (CeBra)

BACKGROUND

Syphilis is a sexually and vertically transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum for which there are few proven alternatives to penicillin for treatment. For pregnant women infected with syphilis, penicillin is the only WHO-recommended treatment that will treat the mother and cross the placenta to treat the unborn infant and prevent congenital syphilis. Recent shortages, national level stockouts as well as other barriers to penicillin use call for the urgent identification of alternative therapies to treat pregnant women infected with syphilis.

METHODS

This prospective, randomized, non-comparative trial will enroll non-pregnant women aged 18 years and older with active syphilis, defined as a positive rapid treponemal and a positive non-treponemal RPR test with titer ≥1:16. Women will be a, domized in a 2:1 ratio to receive the oral third generation cephalosporin cefixime at a dose of 400 mg two times per day for 10 days (n = 140) or benzathine penicillin G 2.4 million units intramuscularly based on the stage of syphilis infection (n = 70). RPR titers will be collected at enrolment, and at three, six, and nine months following treatment. Participants experiencing a 4-fold (2 titer) decline by 6 months will be considered as having an adequate or curative treatment response.

DISCUSSION

Demonstration of efficacy of cefixime in the treatment of active syphilis in this Phase 2 trial among non-pregnant women will inform a proposed randomized controlled trial to evaluate cefixime as an alternative treatment for pregnant women with active syphilis to evaluate prevention of congenital syphilis.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Trial identifier: www.Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03752112. Registration Date: November 22, 2018.

Availability of benzathine penicillin G for syphilis treatment in Shandong Province, Eastern China

Background

The shortage of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) worldwide presents a major challenge in the treatment of syphilis. Its availability for syphilis treatment has not been adequately evaluated in China.

Methods

Two surveys were conducted among hospitals providing sexually transmitted infection clinical services in Shandong Province in 2012 and 2018. Data on the basic information and BPG availability of the surveyed hospitals and related factors were collected and analyzed using SPSS 17.0.

Results

A total of 433 and 515 hospitals were surveyed in 2012 and 2018, respectively. A significant difference in BPG availability was observed among different levels and types of hospitals both in 2012 (X² = 9.747, p = 0.008; X² = 37.167, p = 0.000) and 2018 (X² = 11.775, p = 0.003; X² = 28.331, p = 0.000). The BPG availability among surveyed hospitals increased from 45.0% in 2012 to 56.4% in 2018 (X² = 11.131, p = 0.001). The BPG availability was higher in 2018 than in 2012 among county-level hospitals (52.0% vs. 40.8%, X² = 7.783, p = 0.005), general western medicine hospitals (62.1% vs. 50.0%, X² = 6.742, p = 0.009), maternal and child health hospitals (57.1% vs. 26.9%, X² = 13.906, p = 0.000), and public hospitals (56.8% vs. 45.0%, X² = 11.361, p = 0.001). However, the county-level availability of BPG (at least one hospital has BPG in a county-level unit) has not improved between 2012 and 2018 (65.93% vs. 70.34%; X² = 0.563, p = 0.453). The absences of clinical needs, restriction of clinical antibacterial drugs, and lack of qualifications for providing syphilis treatment were the major reasons for the low BPG availability of hospitals.

Conclusions

BPG availability for syphilis treatment in Shandong Province remains low and presents disparities among different levels and types of hospitals, although it has been improved in recent years. The low availability of BPG for syphilis treatment in China is related to its clinical use by doctors rather than the market supply. Health care reforms should further improve the availability and accessibility of health services.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4006-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Estimating Benzathine Penicillin Need for the Treatment of Pregnant Women Diagnosed with Syphilis during Antenatal Care in High-Morbidity Countries

BACKGROUND

Congenital syphilis continues to be a preventable cause of global stillbirth and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Shortages of injectable penicillin, the only recommended treatment for pregnant women and infants with syphilis, have been reported by high-morbidity countries. We sought to estimate current and projected annual needs for benzathine penicillin in antenatal care settings for 30 high morbidity countries that account for approximately 33% of the global burden of congenital syphilis.

METHODS

Proportions of antenatal care attendance, syphilis screening coverage in pregnancy, syphilis prevalence among pregnant women, and adverse pregnancy outcomes due to untreated maternal syphilis reported to WHO were applied to 2012 birth estimates for 30 high syphilis burden countries to estimate current and projected benzathine penicillin need for prevention of congenital syphilis.

RESULTS

Using current antenatal care syphilis screening coverage and seroprevalence, we estimated the total number of women requiring treatment with at least one injection of 2.4 MU of benzathine penicillin in these 30 countries to be 351,016. Syphilis screening coverage at or above 95% for all 30 countries would increase the number of women requiring treatment with benzathine penicillin to 712,030. Based on WHO management guidelines, 351,016 doses of weight-based benzathine penicillin would also be needed for the live-born infants of mothers who test positive and are treated for syphilis in pregnancy. Assuming availability of penicillin and provision of treatment for all mothers diagnosed with syphilis, an estimated 95,938 adverse birth outcomes overall would be prevented including 37,822 stillbirths, 15,814 neonatal deaths, and 34,088 other congenital syphilis cases.

CONCLUSION

Penicillin need for maternal and infant syphilis treatment is high among this group of syphilis burdened countries. Initiatives to ensure a stable and adequate supply of benzathine penicillin for treatment of maternal syphilis are important for congenital syphilis prevention, and will be increasingly critical in the future as more countries move toward elimination targets.

Preoperative administration of cephalosporins for elective caesarean delivery

INTRODUCTION

Antibiotic prophylaxis means administration of antibiotics in prevention of infections.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the efficacy of a single dose preoperative administration of ceftriaxone and cefazolin in the prevention of intra- and postoperative infections in the parturients without high risk of inflammation.

METHODS

The first group of 45 pregnant and 4 non-pregnant women were preoperatively administered ceftriaxone in a dose of 2 g, i.v., 10 minutes before the planned surgery. The second group of 45 pregnant and 4 non-pregnant women were preoperatively administered cefazolin in a dose of 2 g i.v., 10 minutes before the planned surgery. The concentrations of antibiotics were estimated immediately and 6 hours following the operation, as well as in the amniotic fluid and umbilical cord in the group of pregnant women. The estimation of antibiotic concentration was done by the method of liquid chromatography.

RESULTS

The mean concentrations of antibiotics in the patients following the elective caesarean section were as follows: ceftriaxone--22.7 microg/I. vs cefazolin--44.8 microg/l. Six hours later, the concentration of antibiotic decreased, but the concentration of cefazolin was still over the MIC for sensitive bacteria. The mean concentrations of antibiotics following gynaecological surgery in the non-pregnant patients were as follows: ceftriaxone--12.0 microg/I vs cefazolin--30.1 microg/l. Six hours later, the concentration of antibiotic decreased.

CONCLUSION

It is most optimal to administer a single-dose of the first generation cephalosporins -cefazolin- immediately following the clamping of the umbilical cord as well as in preoperative prophylaxis in gynaecological operations.

[Single dose of antibiotic prophylaxis in elective cesarean sections]

INTRODUCTION

The aim of our study was to determine whether a single-dose preoperative administration of antibiotics was sufficient to prevent intra and postoperative infections in the parturients without a high risk of developing an infection, in whom the delivery was completed by cesarean section, as well as to answer whether the administered dose of antibiotics satisfied the requirements of therapeutic concentrations necessary to protect against infection in the period during the surgical procedure and during the first 6 postoperative hours.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

All investigated pregnant women were planned to have elective cesarean section as a mode of delivery. They were distributed in groups depending on the type (cephalexin, gentamycin and cephazolin) of antibiotic prophylaxis administered as a single dose. In all patients the clinical postoperative course was followed for possible infection. The concentrations of antibiotics were estimated immediately and 6 h following the operation. The estimation of antibiotic concentrations was done by the method of liquid chromatography (for antibiotics belonging to the group of cephalosporins), i.e. RIA method for antibiotics from the group of aminoglycosides.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The total number of infections in investigated groups was 5.18%. The measured mean concentrations of administered antibiotics following the operation and 6 h later were above MIC. This is a proof that the obtained antibiotic prophylaxis by a single dose administration of anbtibiotic is sufficient to prevent the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms from the skin.

A Study Evaluating Ceftriaxone as a Treatment Agent for Primary and Secondary Syphilis in Pregnancy

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy of ceftriaxone in pregnant women who were diagnosed with early syphilis.

STUDY

Eleven women with a history of penicillin allergy, positive skin test, but prior history of safe usage of cephalosporins were included. Ceftriaxone (250 mg) was given intramuscularly once daily for 7 and 10 days to patients with primary and secondary syphilis, respectively. A second course of therapy was provided at 28 weeks' gestation. The rapid plasma reagin test (RPR) was measured before and after therapy. The blood of neonates was also tested at delivery and during the follow-up period.

RESULTS

The serum RPR titers of 11 mothers decreased fourfold, 3 months after treatment. Ten patients developed negative RPR results. The serum RPR was negative at delivery or 6 months after delivery in all neonates.

CONCLUSIONS

Ceftriaxone may be considered as an alternative for treatment of early syphilis in pregnancy.

Obstetricians' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived controls, and intentions on antibiotic prophylaxis in caesarean section

Over 10% of current births in all countries of the world are delivered by caesarean section. Single-dose ampicillin or cefazolin administered after cord clamping has been proven to be effective for the prevention of post-caesarean infections as indicated in many randomised trials and reviews in the Cochrane Library. This study aimed to determine three determinants of behavioural intention using the theory of planned behaviour: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived controls. Intentions were examined for five aspects of the use of antibiotic prophylaxis, namely whether or not antibiotics were used, used in all caesarean sections, after rather than before cord clamping, whether ampicillin/cefazolin or broader-spectrum antibiotics were used, and whether single or multiple doses were given. Fifty obstetricians selected from university, regional, and general hospitals in southern Thailand, were surveyed using a questionnaire and in-depth interview. Their intentions to use a single dose and to use in all cases were low, and this was related to negative attitudes and reference groups who did not approve of the single dose. The negative attitude was based on scepticism concerning the applicability of well-equipped trials from the developed world and fear of consequences of post-caesarean infections. Norms carried over from residency training had more long-term influence in their practice than newer information from books or journals. Perceived external controls on their practice were less predictive of intentions. Intentions were only partly predictive of behaviour. Changing attitudes, introducing evidence-based information into residency training and strengthening control systems in the hospital are essential to improve intentions.

Treatment of syphilis in pregnancy and prevention of congenital syphilis

Studies about the management of syphilis during pregnancy were reviewed. They lacked uniformity in diagnostic criteria and study design. Currently recommended doses of benzathine penicillin G are effective in preventing congenital syphilis in most settings, although studies are needed regarding increased dosing regimens. Azithromycin and ceftriaxone offer potential alternatives for penicillin-allergic women, but insufficient data on efficacy limit their use in pregnancy. Ultrasonography provides a noninvasive means to examine pregnant women for signs of fetal syphilis, and abnormal findings indicate a risk for obstetric complications and fetal treatment failure. Ultrasonography should precede antepartum treatment during the latter half of pregnancy to gauge severity of fetal infection. However, optimal management of the affected fetus has not been established; collaborative management with a specialist is recommended. Antepartum screening remains a critical component of congenital syphilis prevention, even in the era of syphilis elimination.

Ceftriaxone: an update of its use in the management of community-acquired and nosocomial infections

Ceftriaxone is a parenteral third-generation cephalosporin with a long elimination half-life which permits once-daily administration. It has good activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae, methicillin-susceptible staphylococci, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Neisseria spp. Although active against Enterobacteriaceae, the recent spread of derepressed mutants which hyperproduce chromosomal beta-lactamases and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases has diminished the activity of all third-generation cephalosporins against these pathogens necessitating careful attention to sensitivity studies. Extensive data from randomised clinical trials confirm the efficacy of ceftriaxone in serious and difficult-to-treat community-acquired infections including meningitis, pneumonia and nonresponsive acute otitis media. Ceftriaxone also has efficacy in other community-acquired infections including uncomplicated gonorrhoea, acute pyelonephritis and various infections in children. In the nosocomial setting, extensive data also confirm the efficacy of ceftriaxone with or without an aminoglycoside in serious Gram-negative infections, pneumonia, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and as surgical prophylaxis. Outpatient use of ceftriaxone, either as part of a step-down regimen or parenterally, is a distinguishing feature of the data gathered on the agent over the last decade. The review focuses on new applications of the drug and its use in infections in which the causative pathogens or their resistance patterns have changed over the past decade. Ceftriaxone has a good tolerability profile, the most common events being diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, candidiasis and rash. Ceftriaxone may cause reversible biliary pseudolithiasis, notably at higher dosages of the drug (>/=2 g/day); however, the incidence of true lithiasis is <0.1%. Injection site discomfort or phlebitis can occur after intramuscular or intravenous administration.

CONCLUSIONS

As a result of its strong activity against S. pneumoniae, ceftriaxone holds an important place, either alone or as part of a combination regimen, in the treatment of invasive pneumococcal infections, including those with reduced beta-lactam susceptibility. Its once-daily administration schedule allows simplification of otherwise complex regimens in a hospital setting and has also contributed to its popularity as a parenteral agent in an ambulatory setting. These properties, together with a well characterised tolerability profile, mean that ceftriaxone is likely to retain its place as an important third-generation cephalosporin in the treatment of serious community-acquired and nosocomial infections.

Pharmacokinetic changes during pregnancy and their clinical relevance

The dynamic physiological changes that occur in the maternal-placental-fetal unit during pregnancy influence the pharmacokinetic processes of drug absorption, distribution and elimination. Pregnancy-induced maternal physiological changes may affect gastrointestinal function and hence drug absorption rates. Ventilatory changes may influence the pulmonary absorption of inhaled drugs. As the glomerular filtration rate usually increases during pregnancy, renal drug elimination is generally enhanced, whereas hepatic drug metabolism may increase, decrease or remain unchanged. A mean increase of 8 L in total body water alters drug distribution and results in decreased peak serum concentrations of many drugs. Decreased steady-state concentrations have been documented for many agents as a result of their increased clearance. Pregnancy-related hypoalbuminaemia, leading to decreased protein binding, results in increased free drug fraction. However, as more free drug is available for either hepatic biotransformation or renal excretion, the overall effect is an unaltered free drug concentration. Since the free drug concentration is responsible for drug effects, the above mentioned changes are probably of no clinical relevance. The placental and fetal capacity to metabolise drugs together with physiological factors, such as differences acid-base equilibrium of the mother versus the fetus, determine the fetal exposure to the drugs taken by the mother. As most drugs are excreted into the milk by passive diffusion, the drug concentration in milk is directly proportional to the corresponding concentration in maternal plasma. The milk to plasma (M:P) ratio, which compares milk with maternal plasma drug concentrations, serves as an index of the extent of drug excretion in the milk. For most drugs the amount ingested by the infant rarely attains therapeutic levels.

Antibiotic for cesarean section: the case for 'true' prophylaxis

OBJECTIVES

To assess prospectively the efficiency and safety of two extended spectrum cephalosporins used as pre-operative prophylaxis in nonelective cesarean sections, and compare the results to those of a third group of patients that received cefamezine post cord clamping.

METHODS

Two hundred and forty one patients undergoing a nonscheduled cesarean section were assigned to receive either cefonicid or ceftriaxone prior to skin incision. These patients were followed prospectively for infectious and fetal complications. The outcome of these patients was also compared with another group of 194 patients that received cefamezine prophylaxis post cord clamping, and whose data were collected retrospectively. Chi-square analysis of variance were performed with P < 0.05 considered significant.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in the febrile complications among the two groups of patients that received pre-operative prophylaxis. However, these patients had significantly less wound infections (P = 0.008) and a significantly shorter hospital stay (P < 0.001) than the patients who received their prophylactic antibiotics post cord clamping.

CONCLUSIONS

Extended-spectrum cephalosporins, when given pre-operatively, are both effective and safe, and may have an advantage over intra-operative first generation cephalosporins in the reduction of post cesarean section infectious morbidity.