Efficacy of erythromycin on the functional gastrointestinal dysmotility in neonates / 中国小儿急救医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the efficacy of oral erythromycin on the functional gastrointestinal dysmotility in neonates.Methods In this double-blind,randomized,placebo controlled trial,90 neonates consecutively admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Shenzhen Children's Hospital from Jan 2009 to Dec 2011 were enrolled and randomly divided into low-dosage erythromycin group ( LE group,n =30 ),highdosage erythromycin group ( HE group,n =30 ) and control group ( n =30).Patients received either erythromycin ( 3 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg) or equivalent normal saline with oral or nasal feeding every 8 hours one time for 14 d.The time to achieve half,three-quarters,and full enteral nutrition,the time of parenteral nutrition,and hospital length of stay were compared among each group.Results The time to achieve half,three-quarters,and full enteral nutrition in HE group [ ( 3.0 ± 0.5 ) d,( 6.2 ± 0.7 ) d,( 8.2 ± 1.0 ) d ] and in LE group [(6.2±0.5) d,(8.3 ±0.6) d,(10.6 ±1.1) d] were shorter than that in control group [(8.1 ±0.4) d,( 13.5 ± 1.0) d,( 15.7 ± 1.2) d] ( P ＜ 0.05 ).The duration of parenteral nutrition [ ( 14.2 ± 1.4) d vs (9.3 ± 1.2) d vs (7.8 ± 1.1 ) d ] and hospital length of stay [ ( 13.0 ± 1.4 ) d vs ( 8.1 ± 0.8 ) d vs ( 6.8 ±0.7) d] were significantly prolonged in control group compared with LE and HE groups,and there were significant differences among the three groups ( P ＜ 0.05).The incidence of liver injury and septicemia during the treatment of erythromycin were similar between HE group and LE group,but it was significantly lower than control group.No serious adverse effect such as prolongation of QT intervals,dysrhythmia associated with erythromycin treatment was found.Conclusion Oral erythromycin can be considered as a treatment for neonates with functional gastrointestinal dysmotility who fail to establish adequate enteral nutrition,and highdosage oral erythromycin is more effective than low-dosage.