Evaluating Ceftriaxone 80 mg/kg Administration by Rapid Intravenous Infusion—A Clinical Service Evaluation

Abstract

In pediatric ambulatory care, the speed of medication infusion can have major impact on healthcare staff workload and the number of children able to be treated by services designed to reduce inpatient length of stay. In many regions of the world, local and supraregional guidelines allow ceftriaxone infusions of ≥50 mg/kg in infants and children up to 12 years of age to be given over 10 minutes. The generic European summary of product characteristics for ceftriaxone does not state a specific infusion time for this dose range, although 1 manufacturers’ summary of product characteristics in the United Kingdom states a 30-minute minimum infusion time. We conducted a formal service evaluation of a change in practice at a large UK pediatric children’s hospital and demonstrated the clinical feasibility, safety, and high parent satisfaction of 10-minute ceftriaxone infusions for prescribed doses ≥50 mg/kg. This approach can improve patient flow within hospital-based ambulatory services as well as by community nursing teams administering antibiotics at home.