Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC)
Gentamicin is commonly used as first line drug in neonatal sepsis. It is usually used in combination with other drugs. It is a nephrotoxic and an ototoxic drug. Long term use causes renal failure and hearing impairment. Its efficacy depends on the peak concentration, and its toxicity is related to the trough concentration. There is no set protocol of using gentamicin in neonate in Bangladesh, whether it should be used once daily or twice, it is till debatable in this perspective. In daily practice, it is not followed up trough and peak concentration of gentamicin, so it is not known the renal and hearing status of the baby treated with aminoglycosides. In this regard, primary objectives of this study were to measure the peak level (to observe efficacy) and trough (to observe toxicity) level of gentamicin in once-daily dose (ODD) and in twice-daily dose (TDD) of gentamicin in neonates treated for suspected or culture proven sepsis
and finally to assess the renal status and hearing status.