Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition 2009;94:F236-F240
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Toxic additives in medication for preterm infants
1 Neonatal Unit, Leicester Royal Infirmary, University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK
2 Division of Perinatal and Developmental Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
3 Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
4 Centre for Therapeutic Evaluation of Drugs in Children, University Hospitals Leicester NHS
5 Department of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Dr H C Pandya, Department of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Leicester Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK; hp28{at}le.ac.uk
Background: Little is known about exposure of preterm infants to excipients during routine clinical care.
Objective: To document excipient exposure in vulnerable preterm babies in a single centre, taking into account chronic lung disease (CLD) as a marker of illness severity.
Design: Excipient exposure after treatment with eight oral liquid medications was determined by retrospectively analysing the drug charts of infants admitted to a neonatal unit.
Setting: The Leicester Neonatal Service.
Participants: 38 infants born between June 2005 and July 2006 who were less than 30 weeks’ gestation and 1500 g in weight at birth and managed in Leicester to discharge.
Results: The 38 infants represented 53% of the eligible target group; 7/38 infants had CLD. During their in-patient stay, infants were exposed to over 20 excipients including ethanol and propylene glycol, chemicals associated with neurotoxicity. Infants with CLD were exposed to higher concentrations of these toxins. Infants were also exposed to high concentrations of sorbitol, with some infants being exposed to concentrations in excess of recommended guidelines for maximum exposure in adults.
Conclusions: Preterm infants are commonly exposed to excipients, some of which are potentially toxic. Strategies aimed at reducing excipient load in preterm infants are urgently required
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- Fantoms
- Ben Stenson
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2009 94: F235.[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
(2009). What are excipients doing in medicinal products?. DTB
47: 81-84
[Abstract] [Full Text]
eLetters:
Read all eLetters
- Additives in medication for preterm infants: documentation of exposure is only the first step…
- karel allegaert
- Fetal Neonatal Ed. Online, 29 Jun 2009 [Full text]
- Alcohol Intake in Infants Treated with Oral Furosemide Solution
- Dolores C. Iaboni
- Fetal Neonatal Ed. Online, 22 Jul 2009 [Full text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
-
All Versions of this Article:
adc.2008.146035v1
94/4/F236 most recent - Submit a response
- Read responses to this article
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me when eLetters are posted
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in ADC Online
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
