Variability in Ceftriaxone Dosing Across 32 US Acute Care Children's Hospitals

Area of Science:

• Pediatric pharmacology
• Infectious disease management
• Antibiotic stewardship

Background:

• Ceftriaxone is a widely used antibiotic in pediatric hospital settings.
• Inconsistent dosing practices for ceftriaxone have been observed.
• Variability in dosing can impact treatment efficacy and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the consistency of ceftriaxone dosing in hospitalized children.
• To identify specific clinical scenarios with significant dosing variability.
• To provide recommendations for optimizing ceftriaxone dosing protocols.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of pediatric patient data.
• Review of ceftriaxone prescription and administration records.
• Comparison of actual doses against recommended pediatric dosing guidelines.

Main Results:

• High variability in ceftriaxone dosing was identified across the pediatric population.
• Dosing exhibited significant variability in cases of sepsis and serious bacterial infections.
• Dosing for central nervous system infections was frequently suboptimal, potentially compromising treatment.

Conclusions:

• Current ceftriaxone dosing practices in hospitalized children require improvement.
• Standardization of dosing protocols is necessary, especially for critical infections.
• Future efforts should prioritize optimizing and standardizing ceftriaxone administration to ensure patient safety and treatment effectiveness.