Extended Interval Dosing of Gentamicin in Neonates
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Standard of care administration of gentamicin dosed at 3 mg/kg every 24 hours, Standard of care administration of gentamicin dosed at 3.5 mg/kg every 24 hours.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Early Onset Sepsis. Basic parameters: 0 Days — 7 Days · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Canada
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Extended Interval Dosing of Gentamicin in Neonates to Achieve Target Drug Concentrations
Overview
A previous pharmacy residency project was done 20 years ago looking at the best dosing for the antibiotic gentamicin for babies up to 7 days old. This study showed that giving the dose less often leads to better drug concentrations than giving the dose more often. Our gentamicin dosing at the Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre is based on the better dosing from the study. This dosing is gentamicin 3 mg/kg every 24 hours for babies less than 35 weeks gestational age and 3.5 mg/kg every 24 hours for babies at least 35 weeks gestational age. These results were never published. Different dosing is used at different hospitals. It is important that we check that our gentamicin dosing is still reaching safe and effective drug concentrations in the current study. The study will look at the gentamicin drug concentrations of babies up to 7 days old, including premature and term babies. We will also confirm if the babies have kidney or hearing damage from gentamicin. We will compare the gentamicin drug concentrations from this study to the past data to see if the dosing is still the best. The results can help form a guideline for the Children's Hospital and surrounding hospitals.
Detailed description
Current gentamicin dosing at the Children's Hospital is based on the previous projects completed at LHSC. Different gentamicin dosing recommendations exist depending on the reference used. This study would help validate if the current extended interval dosing in neonates is still achieving target gentamicin concentration levels. We will compare the results of the current study to our historic data. The results will help determine if infants are receiving effective and safe treatment with gentamicin. Depending on the results of the study, further evaluation on changes to gentamicin dosing may be needed or an official guideline may be published if gentamicin levels are being adequately achieved with the current dosing. This official guideline will help prescribers at the Children's Hospital and hospitals in the surrounding region that will adopt our dosing when treating infants. There will be an overall benefit to prescribers and patients ensuring safe and effective of gentamicin dosing is followed. If the infant meets the study inclusion criteria, a letter of information will be provided to the parent(s)/guardian(s) if agreeable using REDCap. Consent must be obtained prior to enrollment.
Interventions
- Other Standard of care administration of gentamicin dosed at 3 mg/kg every 24 hours
No interventions will be made to the neonates. Standard of care will be followed with empiric gentamicin and levels ordered for the neonates at the discretion of the medical team. - Other Standard of care administration of gentamicin dosed at 3.5 mg/kg every 24 hours
No interventions will be made to the neonates. Standard of care will be followed with empiric gentamicin and levels ordered for the neonates at the discretion of the medical team.
Primary outcome measures
- Trough gentamicin levels [Time frame: Day 3 of treatment: prior to the third gentamicin dose]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Peak gentamicin levels [Time frame: Day 3 of treatment: following the third gentamicin dose]
- Incidence of suspected nephrotoxicity [Time frame: Seven days after discontinuation of gentamicin]
- Incidence of suspected ototoxicity [Time frame: Up to 7 days following gentamicin discontinuation while infant is still admitted in hospital]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Neonates up to 7 days of age,
- Neonate must be on gentamicin, and
- Gentamicin trough and peak levels must be available for the third dose of gentamicin.
Exclusion criteria
- Incorrect dose for weight (+/- 10% allowed to account for dose rounding)
- Multiple levels from the same patient; only the first set of levels will be collected
- Baseline renal dysfunction (e.g. congenital kidney disease)
- On other nephrotoxic or ototoxic drugs concurrently with the first 3 days of gentamicin
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Canada · 1 center
- Children's Hospital: London Health Sciences Centre — London
Publications
- Core Lab [Phone correspondence]. London; 2025 October 10. Analytical range of gentamicin concentrations.
- van Maarseveen EM, Sprij A, Touw DJ. Extended-Interval Dosing of Gentamicin Aiming for a Drug-Free Period in Neonates: A Prospective Cohort Study. Ther Drug Monit. 2016 Jun;38(3):402-6. doi: 10.1097/FTD.0000000000000283. PMID 26836810
- Konig K, Lim A, Miller A, Saker S, Guy KJ, Barfield CP. Gentamicin trough levels using a simplified extended-interval dosing regimen in preterm and term newborns. Eur J Pediatr. 2015 May;174(5):669-73. doi: 10.1007/s00431-014-2450-z. Epub 2014 Nov 12. PMID 25388408
- The Hospital for Sick Children Electronic Formulary [Internet]. c2025 [cited 2025 November 24]. Gentamicin.
- El-Chaar GM, Supaswud-Franks T, Venugopalan L, Kohn N, Castro-Alcaraz S. Extended-interval gentamicin administration in neonates: a simplified approach. J Perinatol. 2016 Aug;36(8):660-5. doi: 10.1038/jp.2016.37. Epub 2016 Mar 17. PMID 26986995
- Fullas F, Padomek MT, Thieman CJ, Van Gorp AE. Comparative evaluation of six extended-interval gentamicin dosing regimens in premature and full-term neonates. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2011 Jan 1;68(1):52-6. doi: 10.2146/ajhp100114. PMID 21164066
- Rao SC, Srinivasjois R, Moon K. One dose per day compared to multiple doses per day of gentamicin for treatment of suspected or proven sepsis in neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Dec 6;12(12):CD005091. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005091.pub4. PMID 27921299
- LexiDrug (Pediatric & Neonatal Lexi-Drugs) [Internet]. c2025 [cited 2025 November 24]. Gentamicin (Systemic).
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07460349 · 128253