Use and safety of azithromycin in neonates: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES: To identify the use and adverse drug reactions associated with azithromycin in neonates. SETTING: Databases MEDLINE (1948–August 2015), EMBASE (1980–August 2015) and Pubmed (August 2015) were searched for studies on azithromycin in neonates. PARTICIPANTS: All studies involving neonates (<28 days old) who have received at least a single dose of azithromycin for which safety was evaluated. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was adverse event (AE) associated with use of azithromycin. Use of azithromycin in neonates was the secondary outcome. RESULTS: A total of 11 articles involving 473 neonates were identified. 371 AEs were reported. Adverse events were mainly respiratory (358/1000 neonate), neurological (273/1000 neonates) and gastrointestinal (196/1000 neonates) in origin. Azithromycin significantly reduced the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in extremely premature neonates (RR=0.83, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.98, p=0.02). There was no significant difference in the incidence of elevated liver enzymes between the azithromycin and placebo group (p=0.76). There were four cases of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS). CONCLUSIONS: Azithromycin significantly reduces the risk of BPD in preterm neonates. The relationship between azithromycin and IHPS requires further investigation.