Publications by authors named "Kevin Batty"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of presumptive antimalarial treatment postpartum in reducing malaria incidence among mothers in Papua New Guinea.
  • Participants were randomly assigned to receive either no treatment or artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), with no significant difference between the two types of ACT used.
  • Results showed that those who received ACT had a significantly lower risk of developing malaria compared to the untreated group, indicating that administering ACT at delivery can effectively halve the risk of postpartum malaria.
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Purpose: To investigate the physicochemical compatibility of caffeine citrate and caffeine base injections with 43 secondary intravenous (IV) drugs used in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) settings.

Methods: Caffeine citrate (20 mg/mL or 10 mg/mL) or caffeine base injection (10 mg/mL) were mixed in a volume ratio of 1:1 with the secondary drug solution to simulate Y-site co-administration procedures in NICUs. Physical compatibility was evaluated based on visual observation for 2 h, against a black and white background and under polarised light, for changes in colour, precipitation, haze and evolution of gas.

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Sildenafil is used to treat pulmonary hypertension in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings. As multiple intravenous (IV) medications are co-administered in NICU settings, we sought to investigate the physicochemical compatibility of sildenafil with a range of IV drugs. Sildenafil 600 mcg/mL or 60 mcg/mL was mixed 1:1 with the secondary drug solution to simulate Y-site co-administration procedures.

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Our objective was to establish and test a machine learning-based screening process that would be applicable to systematic reviews in pharmaceutical sciences. We used the SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type) model, a broad search strategy, and a machine learning tool (Research Screener) to identify relevant references related to y-site compatibility of 95 intravenous drugs used in neonatal intensive care settings. Two independent reviewers conducted pilot studies, including manual screening and evaluation of Research Screener, and used the kappa-coefficient for inter-reviewer reliability.

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Since 1955, the recommended strategy for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis has been benzathine penicillin G [BPG; 1.2 MU (900 mg)] injections administered intramuscularly every 4 weeks. Due to dosing frequency, pain, and programmatic challenges, adherence is suboptimal.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical compatibility of intravenous lipid emulsions with parenteral medications used in neonatal intensive care.

Methods: Lipid emulsion and drug solutions were combined 1:1 in glass vials, inspected for physical incompatibility at 0, 1 and 2 hours, and assessed on the basis of lipid droplet size at 0 and 2 hours after mixing. Intravenous fluid controls (Water for Injection, sodium chloride 0.

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Background: Regular intramuscular (i.m.) benzathine penicillin G (BPG) injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s.

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Objectives: To assess the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of two high-dose, short-course primaquine (PQ) regimens compared with standard care in children with Plasmodium vivax infections.

Methods: We performed an open-label pediatric dose-escalation study in Madang, Papua New Guinea (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02364583).

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Objectives: We aimed to assess safety, tolerability, and Plasmodium vivax relapse rates of ultra-short course (3.5 days) high-dose (1 mg/kg twice daily) primaquine (PQ) for uncomplicated malaria because of any Plasmodium species in children randomized to early- or delayed treatment.

Methods: Children aged 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • The introduction highlights the significance of regular intramuscular benzathine penicillin G injections in preventing rheumatic heart disease (RHD), but the exact dose needed for effectiveness is unknown, prompting a need for research.
  • The CHIPS trial will investigate how different steady-state plasma concentrations of penicillin can prevent pharyngitis in healthy adults by conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
  • With 60 volunteers receiving varying levels of penicillin, the study aims to identify the minimum effective concentration while also observing immune responses and participant experiences. Ethics approval has already been secured for the trial.
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Mass drug administration (MDA) with monthly dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQP) appears useful in malaria control and elimination strategies. Determining the relationship between consecutive piperaquine phosphate (PQP) exposure and its impact on QT interval prolongation is a key safety consideration for MDA campaigns. Healthy volunteers from Papua New Guinea received a 3-day course of DHA-PQP (2.

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Background: Benzathine penicillin G (BPG) is the cornerstone of secondary prophylaxis to prevent Streptococcus pyogenes infections, which precede acute rheumatic fever (ARF). The paucity of pharmacokinetic (PK) data from children and adolescents from populations at the highest risk of ARF and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) poses a challenge for determining the optimal dosing and frequency of injections and undermines efforts to develop improved regimens.

Methods: We conducted a 6 month longitudinal PK study of young people receiving BPG for secondary prophylaxis.

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Introduction: The objectives of this study were to develop a stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for benzylpenicillin (BPC) in pharmaceutical fluids, and to investigate the stability of (i) isotonic citrate-buffered BPC solutions at the clinically relevant concentration of 30 mg/mL, and (ii) low concentration citrate-buffered BPC intravenous infusions (5-30 μg/mL).

Methods: The stability of isotonic BPC solutions containing 3.4 or 7.

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Since there are inconsistent data relating to the effect of haemoglobinopathies on disposition of artemisinin antimalarial combination therapy, and none in sickle cell trait (SCT) or sickle cell disease (SCD), the aim of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetic properties of artemether-lumefantrine (ARM-LUM) in children with SCD/SCT. Thirty-eight Tanzanian children aged 5-10 years with normal (haemoglobin AA; n = 12), heterozygous (haemoglobin AS; n = 14) or homozygous (haemoglobin SS; n = 12) sickle genotypes received six ARM-LUM doses (1.7 mg/kg plus 10 mg/kg, respectively) over 3 days.

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Because of the need to replace the current clinical artemisinins in artemisinin combination therapies, we are evaluating fitness of amino-artemisinins for this purpose. These include the thiomorpholine derivative artemiside obtained in one scalable synthetic step from dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and the derived sulfone artemisone. We have recently shown that artemiside undergoes facile metabolism via the sulfoxide artemisox into artemisone and thence into the unsaturated metabolite M1; DHA is not a metabolite.

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Pentoxifylline (PTX) is administered as 6- or 12-hour intravenous infusions in the treatment of sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis in neonates; however, there is a paucity of formal stability data for PTX in the end-use solution. We investigated PTX stability in the simulated clinical conditions of neonatal intensive care, where PTX injection is diluted to 5 mg/mL and administered via syringe pump. A stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay was established for PTX.

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Article Synopsis
  • Intramuscular benzathine penicillin G (BPG) injections are essential for preventing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, but there are uncertainties regarding how effective they are across different ethnic groups and preparations.
  • A study in Ethiopia analyzed the pharmacokinetics (PK) of BPG in ARF/RHD patients by collecting serum samples after injections and assessing them using advanced assay techniques.
  • Results showed that Ethiopian patients had lower drug distribution and longer absorption half-life compared to Indigenous Australians, with most not maintaining effective drug levels for the necessary duration, indicating a need for improved BPG strategies in treatment programs.
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Benzathine penicillin G (BPG) is used as first-line treatment for most forms of syphilis and as secondary prophylaxis against rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Perceptions that poor quality of BPG is linked to reported adverse effects and therapeutic failure may impact syphilis and RHD control programs. Clinical networks and web-based advertising were used to obtain vials of BPG from a wide range of countries.

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Ceftriaxone is widely used for respiratory and urinary infections in elderly and frail patients, but there are few pharmacokinetic studies. A prospective population pharmacokinetic study of ceftriaxone in adults over 65 years old was undertaken. Dried blood spots collected at baseline (predose) and 0.

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Background: Benzathine penicillin G has been used as monthly deep intramuscular (IM) injections since the 1950s for secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Injection frequency and pain are major programmatic barriers for adherence, prompting calls for development of better long-acting penicillin preparations to prevent RHD. We hypothesized that subcutaneous (SC) administration of benzathine penicillin G could delay penicillin absorption when compared with IM injections.

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Objective: To investigate the physical and chemical compatibility of pentoxifylline (PTX) with a range of parenteral medications used in neonatal intensive care.

Design: PTX and drug solutions were combined in glass vials, inspected for physical incompatibility and evaluated on the basis of PTX concentrations for chemical compatibility.

Results: No precipitation, colour change or turbidity was observed in any of the test mixtures.

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Background: Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) kits containing uterotonics are used on obstetric units for the timely management of PPH. Visible discolouration of ergometrine and ergometrine-oxytocin injections was observed in PPH kits stored in medical refrigerators on the obstetric unit at our hospital.

Aim: To investigate the stability of ergometrine and ergometrine-oxytocin injections in PPH kits under simulated clinical storage conditions and to determine the potency of ampoules quarantined from PPH kits on our obstetric unit.

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Background: Benzathine benzylpenicillin G (BPG) is recommended as secondary prophylaxis to prevent recurrence of acute rheumatic fever and subsequent rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Following intramuscular injection, BPG is hydrolysed to benzylpenicillin. Little is known of the pharmacokinetics of benzylpenicillin following BPG in populations at risk of RHD.

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