Tigecycline Treatment In Critically Ill Children: A Single-Center Experience

AIM: We aimed to draw attention to the fact that tigecycline may be an alternative in the treatment of resistant gram-negative infections in children. BACKGROUND: The frequency of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections is increasing worldwide and Tigecycline is an important treatment option for children with life-threatening hospital infections. Because of there is very little published data on the use of tigecycline in pediatric patients, we present our experience with tigecycline use in children. METHODS: The files of pediatric patients treated with tigecycline for multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections at the tertiary Istanbul Medical Faculty Hospital between January 2021-August 2024 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical, laboratory data were analyzed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tigecycline treatment in children. RESULTS: Among 75 children treated for resistant gram-negative infections, a total of 23 children aged 4 months to 17 years who received tigecycline treatment were included in this study; 14 were male(60.9%). Patients’87% had comorbidities. Sepsis-related mortality was seen in 2 patients, but no side effects were observed in any of the patients. The mean time to obtain a negative control culture was 10.74±10.92 days. Tigecycline resistance was present in 34.8% of the patients. The mortality rate was higher in patients with longer tigecycline treatment duration(p=0.026). Tigecycline can be used as a salvage treatment in resistant infections where options are limited. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that tigecycline may be a treatment option for children with severe infections. However, more prospective, controlled studies are needed to objectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of tigecycline in children.