Ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion at palliative care unit

ABSTRACT

Ceftriaxone is one of the easily administrative antibiotics, but little is known about their role in palliative care settings. The aim of this study is to show the effect and the safety of ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion to infection among advanced cancer patients. Consecutive patients who received ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion at the Seirei Hospice from January 2013 to January 2014 were enrolled in this retrospective analyses. Primary outcome was the response rate of ceftriaxone, determined by improvement of symptoms within 3 days of ceftriaxone use. Secondary outcomes are inflammatory site reaction, and a comparison of the response rate between ceftriatone and other antibiotics. Among a total of 100 admitted patients, 10 patients used ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion (4 for urinary tract infection, 4 for pneumonia, 2 for soft tissue infection). The response rate was 70% (95% confidence interval, 39－89). There was no inflammatory symptom at the insertion site observed. For comparisons, 16 patients used other antibiotics with the response rate of 74% (51－88).In conclusion, subcutaneous infusion of ceftriaxone can be useful in the treatment of infections of end－of－life cancer patients, and randomized controlled trial is promising.