Evidence map›Paper›PMID 16507149›Full record

SynthesisCritical care (London, England)2006

Toxicity of polymyxins: a systematic review of the evidence from old and recent studies.

Matthew E Falagas, Sofia K Kasiakou

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudySystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Critical care (London, England), 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 316 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
316citing papers in PubMed
10.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

316 citing papers in PubMed, 790 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

256 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Matthew E FalagasAlfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Athens, Greece. matthew.falagas@tufts.edu
Sofia K Kasiakou
Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe increasing problem of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria causing severe infections and the shortage of new antibiotics to combat them has led to the re-evaluation of polymyxins. These antibiotics were discovered from different species of Bacillus polymyxa in 1947; only two of them, polymyxin B and E (colistin), have been used in clinical practice. Their effectiveness in the treatment of infections due to susceptible gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, has not been generally questioned. However, their use was abandoned, except in patients with cystic fibrosis, because of concerns related to toxicity.

methodsWe reviewed old and recent evidence regarding polymyxin-induced toxicity by searching Pubmed (from 1950 until May 2005).

resultsIt was reported in the old literature that the use of polymyxins was associated with considerable toxicity, mainly nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity, including neuromuscular blockade. However, recent studies showed that the incidence of nephrotoxicity is less common and severe compared to the old studies. In addition, neurotoxic effects of polymyxins are usually mild and resolve after prompt discontinuation of the antibiotics. Furthermore, cases of neuromuscular blockade and apnea have not been reported in the recent literature.

conclusionNew evidence shows that polymyxins have less toxicity than previously reported. The avoidance of concurrent administration of nephrotoxic and/or neurotoxic drugs, careful dosing, as well as more meticulous management of fluid and electrolyte abnormalities and use of critical care services may be some of the reasons for the discrepancy between data reported in the old and recent literature.

Indexed as

Drug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialHumansPolymyxinsPolymyxins

Identifiers

PMID16507149
PMCPMC1550802
OpenAlexW1602597014

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.