UK doctors and nurses issued warning about antibiotics for babies

February 15, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: Baby Health, News

UK doctors and nurses are being warned about the dangers of adverse reactions to babies that receive powerful antibiotic treatments.

The National Patient Safety Agency and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have drawn up new guidelines meant to aid doctors and nurses in the U.K. with decisions regarding antibiotics for babies.

Gentamicin, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections typically caused by Gram-negative bacteria, was reported to have caused 507 cases of harm or potential harm in babies last year. This caused the NPSA to write up new guidelines for the use of gentamicin.

The NPSA’s Jenny Mooney said, “Frontline services should adopt this latest Patient Safety Alert to ensure high standards of care are taken in the prescribing, administrating and monitoring of this drug.”

While the drug was reported to have caused little to no harm to in 483 of the cases, 23 cases of moderate harm occurred from its use as well as one severe case. Issues involving the drug included giving the drug at the wrong time of day, prescribing the wrong dosage and failing to monitor blood levels.

The new guidelines call for all hospitals to have a clear protocol on dosage levels and blood level monitoring in order to combat potential side effects like kidney and hearing damage.

Baby charity Bliss welcomed the news by the NPSA, with chief executive Andy Cole telling the Telegraph: “We welcome the recommendations … for the administration of the antibiotic gentamicin and are delighted that these crucial issues in neonatal care have been addressed by the NPSA.”

“It is imperative that all drugs are given as safely as possible to sick babies to ensure that adverse reactions are minimized. It is important that parents are informed about the possible risks of any course of treatment for their baby and that they are able to discuss and properly assess the clinical options presented to them.”

“Ensuring the baby’s best interest is paramount,” he added.