Erythromycin as a rescue prokinetic agent in preterm neonates
| Antimicrobial dose (n = 56)27 | Low dose (n = 111) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Hennawy et al29 | Ng et al28 | Cairns et al30,31 | ||||||
| Erythromycin | Placebo | Erythromycin | Placebo | Erythromycin | Placebo | Erythromycin | Placebo | |
| Values are median (range) or mean (SD) except those marked with an asterisk which are mean (SEM). | ||||||||
| FEFs, Full enteral feeds; TPN, total parenteral nutrition; NEC, necrotising enterocolitis; NA, not available; NR, not recorded. | ||||||||
| Number | 27 | 29 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 32 | 28 |
| Gestation (weeks) | 29.6 (28.6–30.7) | 29.3 (27.5–31.0) | 29 (3) | 29 (2) | 27.1 (1.9) | 27.5 (2.9) | 27.8 (1.9) | 27.5 (1.8) |
| Birth weight (g) | 1180 (985–1395) | 1160 (1004–1389) | 1178 (416) | 1212 (527) | 806.3 (215.6) | 981.6 (285.4) | NA | NA |
| Age at starting treatment (days) | 14 | 14 | 24 (13) | 26 (13) | 19.7 (9) | 17.3 (5.3) | NA | NA |
| Time to FEFs after enrolment (days) | 13.5 (8–22) | 25(16–33) | NA | NA | 24.9 (2.9)* | 30.8 (4.1)* | 13.0 (14.1) | 26.5 (20.5) |
| Postnatal age at FEFs (days) | NA | NA | 31 (15) | 36 (16) | 46.6 (18) | 52.1 (17.5) | NA | NA |
| Time to regain birth weight (days) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 12.8 (4.4) | 16.8 (6.2) | NA | NA |
| Discharge weight (g) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NR | NR | NA | NA |
| Duration of treatment (days) | 14 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 28.4 (7.1) | 33.6 (9.4) | Till FEFs | Till FEFs |
| Duration of TPN (days) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 39.4 (13.8) | 43.3 (18.3) | NA | NA |
| Duration of hospital stay (days) | 73 (64–97) | 86(64–109) | NA | NA | 98.3 (35.9) | 99.6 (58.6) | NA | NA |
| ⩾Stage 2 NEC | 0 | 0 | NA | NA | 0 | 1 | NA | NA |
| Cardiac arrhythmia | 0 | 0 | NA | NA | 0 | 0 | NA | NA |
| Diarrhoea | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Late onset sepsis | 11 | 9 | NA | NA | 3 | 3 | NA | NA |
| Theophylline toxicity | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | 0 | NA | NA |
| Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis | 0 | 0 | NA | NA | 0 | 0 | NA | NA |
| Death | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NA | NA |