Safety and effcacy of subcutaneous administration of Beta-Lactams: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. (In: The 20th European Doctoral Conference in Nursing Science – EDCNS)

Introduction: Beta-lactam antibiotics are widely used for bacterial infections due to their efficacy. Subcutaneous administration, beneficial for patients with oral intolerance or poor venous access, shows efficacy comparable to intravenous routes. This method could extend antibiotic use beyond hospitals, improving healthcare. The study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous beta-lactam administration compared to other routes or placebo. Methods: This study was developed according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The research question defined: population as individuals of all ages; the intervention as subcutaneous administration of beta-lactams; the comparison as no intervention or placebo or other routes of administration; the outcomes as safety and efficacy; the study design as clinical trials and prospective observational studies. Online databases were accessed: Pubmed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus and Clinicaltrial.gov. The resulting records were blindly checked by two researchers and disagreements were resolved by a third researcher. The same process was carried out independently for data extraction. Results: The search strategy identified 2953 records, of which 534 were checked for duplicates. At the end of the process, thirty-one records were eligible for full-text evaluation. The data extracted from the records suggest satisfactory results for the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous administration of some antibiotics. However, there is considerable imprecision due to the eterogeneity of the studies. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis adds promising new information about subcutaneous administration of antibiotics, but further randomised clinical trials are needed to gain a more complete understanding of safety and efficacy.