Antibiotic Administration for Meconium Aspiration Syndrome in Neonates: A Systematic Review

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Campbell Sandy
  • Kumar Manoj
  • Pongmee Pharuhad
  • Nagar Gaurav

• Objectives: To conduct a systematic review of the clinical trials evaluating the role of antibiotics for prevention or treatment of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). Methods: We searched several electronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS (until September 2013), and CENTRAL (until August 2013). Additional citations were retrieved from the bibliographies of the selected articles. Studies were included if they were: Randomized or quasi-randomized trials, compared use of antibiotics with no antibiotics for treatment or prevention of MAS, and reported on clinical outcomes in the neonatal period. Results: Four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified; three studies enrolled subjects for treatment of MAS and one study evaluated the prophylactic use of antibiotics in infants exposed to meconium stained amniotic fluid (MSAF). These trials enrolled 695 infants, with the duration of antibiotics between 3 and 7 days. All studies excluded subjects considered to be at higher risk for neonatal sepsis at onset. There were no differences noted for the outcomes of infection rates (relative risk [RR] [95% confidence interval: 0.85 [0.42, 1.73] for clinical sepsis, and 0.93 [0.36, 2.40] for culture-proven sepsis), need for mechanical ventilation (RR: 1.39 [0.68, 2.82]), air leaks syndrome (RR: 1.65 [0.68, 3.99]), hospital stay (mean difference − 0.34 days [−1.13, 0.45]), or mortality (RR: 1.25 [0.36, 4.39]) between the intervention and control groups. Conclusions: In neonates at low-risk for sepsis, insufficient evidence exists to support the routine use of antibiotics following exposure to MSAF or for the treatment of for suspected MAS. We discuss the implications and limitations of review findings for clinical practice.

• Date created

  2015

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Antibiotics
  • Meconium-Stained Amniotic Fluid
  • Meta-Analysis
  • Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
  • Systematic reviews

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3M03ZB0N

• License

  Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareALike 4.0 International