Safety of Metronidazole in Late Pre-term and Term Infants with Complicated Intra-abdominal Infections.

Background: Metronidazole is frequently used off-label in infants with complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) to provide coverage against anaerobic organisms, but its safety and efficacy in this indication are unknown.

Methods: In the Antibiotic Safety in Infants with Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections open-label multicenter trial infants ≥34 weeks gestation at birth and <121 days postnatal age with cIAIs were administered metronidazole as part of multimodal therapy. Metronidazole safety was evaluated by reporting of adverse events (AEs) and safety events of special interest.

Cytokine profiles of preterm neonates with fungal and bacterial sepsis.

Background: Information on cytokine profiles in fungal sepsis (FS), an important cause of mortality in extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants, is lacking. We hypothesized that cytokine profiles in the first 21 d of life in ELBW infants with FS differ from those with bacterial sepsis (BS) or no sepsis (NS).

Methods: In a secondary analysis of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Cytokine study, three groups were defined-FS (≥1 episode of FS), BS (≥1 episode of BS without FS), and NS.

Cross-reactive immunologic material status affects treatment outcomes in Pompe disease infants.

Deficiency of acid alpha glucosidase (GAA) causes Pompe disease, which is usually fatal if onset occurs in infancy. Patients synthesize a non-functional form of GAA or are unable to form native enzyme. Enzyme replacement therapy with recombinant human GAA (rhGAA) prolongs survival in infantile Pompe patients but may be less effective in cross-reactive immunologic material (CRIM)-negative patients.