Cefotiam Hydrochloride

We aimed to investigate antibacterial‐induced thrombocytopenia using the China Hospital Pharmacovigilance System (CHPS) in conjunction with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).

Between September 2011 and December 2022, a 2‐phase workflow was employed to identify antibacterial‐induced thrombocytopenia, including preliminary screening in phase (I) conducted by CHPS algorithms and causality assessment by trained pharmacists in phase (II) using VBA. The incidence of thrombocytopenia in each antibacterial was calculated, and comparisons were performed between paediatric and adult patients.

CHPS algorithms identified 4080 cases from 485 238 admissions (including 223 735 admissions receiving at least 1 antibacterial treatment). After ruling out cases with chemotherapy and abnormal platelet count at admission, 3832 cases were available. Using VBA, pharmacists identified 1039 cases (1246 antibacterial treatments, 28 agents) as potential thrombocytopenia instances (κ = 0.89), with an incidence of 0.46%. All antibacterial treatments correlated temporally with thrombocytopenia. Carbapenems (meropenem 1.77%), glycopeptides (vancomycin 1.55%) and lincosamides (clindamycin 0.44%) were prominent causal groups. The highest incidences of thrombocytopenia in the cephalosporins and penicillins groups were ceftazidime (2.04%) and piperacillin/tazobactam (1.24%), respectively. Among all antibacterial treatments, clindamycin showed the shortest time to onset (TTO), and erythromycin showed the longest TTO. Paediatric patients exhibited a longer TTO (61 vs. 29 h), extended time to nadir (83 vs. 37 h), lower platelet nadir count values (110 vs. 92 × 109/L), and a higher severe case proportion (12.37 vs. 3.86%) when compared with adults.

Different antibacterial agents exhibit varying incidences of thrombocytopenia, with notable disparities between adults and children in the characteristics of thrombocytopenia.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are crucial constituents of inherent immunity and serve as vital components of human host defense, playing a pivotal role in combating invading microbial pathogens. Beyond their antimicrobial functions, AMPs also exhibit various other biological activities including apoptosis induction, wound healing promotion, and immune modulation. These peptides are found in various exposed tissues or surfaces throughout the body, such as eyes, skin, mouth, ears, respiratory tract, lungs, digestive, and urinary system. Additionally, certain AMPs such as LL‐37, HNP, and lactoferrin have shown potential as candidates for anticancer activity. Given the limited selectivity between normal and cancer cells exhibited by many current immunotherapeutic agents, the inherent properties of AMPs make them promising candidates for cancer treatment. Their abundance, bioavailability, safety profile, efficiency, and harmony with the host immune system position them as attractive tools in the fight against cancer. This review is aimed at exploring the potential anticancer properties of AMPs and elucidating their relationship with immunology and cancer immunotherapy.