Pediatric Drugs最新文献

Apremilast (Otezla^®) is an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) being developed by Amgen. It is approved in multiple countries worldwide, including the USA and those of the EU, for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, or oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease. In April 2024, based on clinical data in patients aged 6-17 years, apremilast received its first pediatric approval in the USA for the treatment of pediatric patients aged ≥ 6 years and weighing ≥ 20 kg with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy. Apremilast was also approved in the EU in October 2024 for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in children and adolescents from the age of 6 years and weighing ≥ 20 kg who are candidates for systemic therapy. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of apremilast leading to the first pediatric approval for plaque psoriasis.

Introduction: Clinical trials entail complex processes that are more challenging when they are addressed to pediatric patients and include a decentralized design. High-realistic simulation allows for the testing and refining of procedures, organizational systems, and interactions between professionals and patients/families, narrowing the gap between work-as-imagined and work-as-done.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to analyze the impact of simulation in three key moments of a clinical trial: the baseline visit, home administration of the investigational drug by parents, and the drawing and processing of pharmacokinetics samples by a home nurse.

Methods: Multidisciplinary meetings were held between the team of Barcelona Children's Hospital and the sponsor to define the simulation objectives. Three simulation scenarios were executed in 2 days. Subsequently, a post-process analysis was performed, including the assessment of the patient/family experience.

Results: In the baseline visit scenario, minimum duration was calculated, and main aspects related to task dynamics, materials, and training were identified. In the drug administration scenario, the family was able to carry out the infusion within the time established in the protocol, but with some difficulties. In the home nursing scenario, some recommendations for improving safety and patient experience were suggested.

Conclusions: High-realistic clinical simulation can contribute to anticipate risks, refine the design of activities, and to identify specific needs prior to the protocol finalization, a timepoint in the process when modifications can still be made that constitutes a significant return on investment and return on the engagement, in the experience of the patients that will participate in the study.

Clinicaltrial:

Gov identifier number: NCT04644575.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have revolutionized the treatment of hematological malignancies, inducing notable and durable clinical responses. However, for solid tumors, including but not limited to pediatric tumors, several peculiar biological features posed substantial challenges for achieving comparable results. Despite sound pre-clinical evidence of the ability of CAR T cells to eradicate solid malignancies, their activity remains suboptimal when facing the in vivo complexity of solid tumors, characterized by antigen heterogeneity, scarce T-cell infiltration, and an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Neuroblastoma was amongst the first tumors to be evaluated as a potential candidate for GD2-targeting CAR T cells, which recently documented promising results in high-risk, heavily pre-treated patients. Moreover, innovative engineering strategies for generating more potent and persistent CAR T cells suggest the possibility to reproduce, and potentially improve, these promising results on a larger scale. In the next years, harnessing the full therapeutic potential of CAR T cells and other immunotherapeutic strategies may open new possibilities for effectively treating the most aggressive forms of pediatric tumors.

Objective: We aimed to determine the piperacillin disposition and optimize the dosing regimens for infants and children with pneumonia.

Methods: An opportunistic sampling strategy was used in this pharmacokinetic study. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to measure the concentrations of piperacillin in plasma samples. A population pharmacokinetic model was conducted using NONMEM.

Results: The pharmacokinetic data of 90 samples from 64 infants and children with pneumonia (age range: 0.09-1.72 years for infants and 2.12-11.10 years for children) were available. A two-compartment model with first-order elimination was the most suitable model to describe the population pharmacokinetics of piperacillin. A covariate analysis indicated that body weight and age were significant factors affecting clearance. Monte Carlo simulations showed that a 50-mg/kg every 8 h or every 12 h dosing regimen results in underdosing. Results both in infants and children showed that an extended infusion (3 h) of various dosing regimens (80, 100, or 130 mg/kg) three times daily or a 300-mg/kg continuous infusion can reach a therapeutic level based on the chosen target for the probability of target attainment threshold of 70%, 80%, and 90% at minimum inhibitory concentration breakpoints of 8 mg/L and 16 mg/L.

Conclusions: A population pharmacokinetic model was obtained to evaluate the disposition of piperacillin, and the optimal dosing regimens were provided for use in infants and children with pneumonia.

The risk of fungal, bacterial, and viral infections is higher in children with hematological and solid malignancies, particularly during periods of profound neutropenia. Although early administration of antimicrobial agents is common, optimizing pharmacological therapy in pediatric patients with cancer is challenging because of their variable pharmacokinetics compared with adults, including differences in body mass and augmented renal clearance, as well as chemotherapy-induced organ toxicity. Therapeutic drug monitoring, which involves measuring drug concentrations in serum or plasma at specific timepoints and adjusting doses accordingly, can be applied to various medications. While standardized targets for all antimicrobial agents in children are lacking, therapeutic drug monitoring appears to be beneficial in preventing serious toxicity and addressing treatment failure or non-compliance. This narrative review aims to analyze current perspectives on therapeutic drug monitoring for antimicrobial drugs in the special population of children with hematological or oncological diseases, including those undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. The review provides evidence on the clinical benefits of this method and explores potential future developments in this area.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the pharmacokinetic profile of gentamicin among neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH) treatment.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of neonates with HIE undergoing TH in the neonatal intensive care unit who received gentamicin between 2009 and 2014. Demographic information, diagnoses, laboratory test results, and medication administration and monitoring information were collected, and data were analyzed using SciPy.

Results: A total of 57 neonates were analyzed. The median birth weight was 3.25 kg (interquartile range [IQR] 2.8-3.68), and median gestational age was 39 weeks (IQR 38-40). An elevated gentamicin trough level (defined as > 2 mg/L) was observed in 61% (35/57) of neonates. Half of the neonates (49%) had multiple gentamicin trough levels obtained, and 4% of the neonates were switched to an alternate agent. There was a significant difference in the number of dosing interval changes in neonates with elevated gentamicin trough levels compared with those with therapeutic gentamicin trough levels (P < 0.001). Of the neonates with elevated gentamicin trough levels, 14% (5/35) failed their hearing screen (P = 0.389).

Conclusions: Neonates with HIE undergoing TH may have an altered pharmacokinetic profile, requiring multiple blood draws so medication levels can be monitored and doses adjusted. Traditional gentamicin dosing regimens may not be ideal for this patient population, and further guidance is required for alternative treatment regimens.

Juvenile dermatomyositis is a rare systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease involving muscle, skin, and vessels. Most patients do not fully respond to initial therapy, instead having a chronic refractory or polycyclic disease course. Pathogenesis is not completely understood, but immune cell dysregulation, particularly of B cells, mitochondrial dysfunction, changes in neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), and increased type I and type II interferon (IFN) signaling have been described. There are limited randomized controlled trials of drugs in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), and treatment is largely based on lower-quality data such as case series, retrospective studies, and open-label prospective studies. These data have been compiled into expert recommendations or consensus treatment plans, which help guide therapy. While initial therapy is more standard with most including corticosteroids (high-dose oral and/or pulse intravenous methylprednisolone) and methotrexate, for refractory patients, guidelines are more varied with multiple options or combinations, including biologic therapies. There is a clear need for more efficacious and personalized therapy in JDM. Emerging treatment options worthy of further study in JDM include targeting IFN-signaling (JAK, IFNAR1, IFN beta), B-cells (CD20, CD19, BAFF, TACI, CD38, BCMA) including Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy, mitochondrial dysfunction, and NETs.

Oral ganaxolone (ZTALMY^®), a synthetic analogue of the endogenous neuroactive steroid allopregnanolone, acts as a positive allosteric modulator of synaptic and extra-synaptic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptor function in the CNS. In the EU and the UK, it is approved for the adjunctive treatment of epileptic seizures associated with cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency disorder (CDD) in patients aged 2-17 years. In a multinational phase III study (Marigold), 17 weeks' therapy with adjunctive ganaxolone, administered orally three times daily with food, significantly reduced 28-day major motor seizure frequency from baseline versus placebo in patients aged 2-19 years with CDD-associated refractory epilepsy. Antiepileptic efficacy was generally sustained through 2 years of treatment. Ganaxolone was generally well tolerated in Marigold. While somnolence and sedation are related to the dose of ganaxolone, they appear early in treatment and may decrease with continued therapy. Thus, although current evidence is somewhat limited, adjunctive ganaxolone could be a valuable therapeutic option for patients aged 2-17 years with epileptic seizures associated with CDD.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder seen in both pediatric and adult populations. CIDP typically presents with progressive and persistent weakness over at least 4 weeks in addition to sensory symptoms in the extremities. Although CIDP shares common clinical features between children and adults, it sometimes presents as a distinct clinical entity in children that requires close attention and recognition. A major caveat when diagnosing a child with CIDP is the clinical and diagnostic overlap with inherited neuropathies, most commonly Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). Demyelinating CMT (dCMT) and CIDP might share similar clinical presentations, and sometimes it might be difficult to differentiate them on the basis of the electrodiagnostic findings or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) albumino-cytological dissociation. This indeed merits early consideration for genetic testing in patients who do not respond to conventional CIDP therapies. Current treatment options for CIDP include intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), corticosteroids (CS), and plasmapheresis (PLEX). The need for novel therapies is essential in instances where patients continue to have symptoms despite the standard therapies or due to adverse effects of long-term use of standard therapies such as CS. This paper reviews the challenges in the diagnosis of CIDP in children and the current as well as novel therapies for CIDP.