Tigecycline (Tygacil®) for pediatric use: Overview of available data Tigecyclin (Tygacil®) in der pädiatrischen Anwendung: Überblick über die verfügbaren Daten

Borghorst S, Boos J

Abstract

Tigecycline is an antibiotic of last resort approved for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections as well as complicated intra-abdominal infections in adults. Due to the emergence of highly resistant pathogens, however, its use could be mooted for children but for whom it has not been authorized. Because of its structural similarity to tetracyclines, treatment with tigecycline can elicit comparable adverse drug reactions. In March 2011 Pfizer Pharma GmbH announced a restriction for all fields of application based on numerically higher mortality among adults receiving tigecycline, which was also reported in various publications. A literature search yielded three case reports on administration in children and adverse drug reactions were observed in only one. By reason of these case reports and the data provided by Pfizer Pharma GmbH upon request, a dose of 1 mg/kg up to a maximum of 50 mg every 12 h in emergency situations would appear to be justifiable for children and adolescents >12 years of age. The indication for the use of tigecycline in children should be strictly defined and the course must be closely monitored in a tightly controlled setting. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.