Chloramphenicol is a drug that can cause gray baby syndrome. If pregnant women improperly take chloramphenicol during the late stages of pregnancy, it can lead to gray baby syndrome in preterm or newborn infants. Infants have poor drug detoxification ability, which can easily lead to liver and kidney dysfunction. Once gray baby syndrome occurs, the drug should be stopped immediately, and symptomatic treatment should be given promptly to avoid greater harm.
1. One of the serious adverse reactions of chloramphenicol is gray baby syndrome, which mainly occurs in newborns and preterm infants. Due to their incomplete development of liver and kidney function and lack of glucose transferase, they have low detoxification ability for chloramphenicol and poor renal excretion ability, which can easily lead to drug accumulation and poisoning in the body.
2. Chloramphenicol should not be used during the late pregnancy or perinatal period. Infants, nursing mothers, people with mental illness, and those with liver and kidney dysfunction are prohibited or cautious in using chloramphenicol. It is not recommended to use it in large doses. When chloramphenicol must be used, it must be used under the condition of monitoring blood drug concentration.
3. Once gray baby syndrome occurs, the drug should be stopped immediately. Including infants and nursing mothers, only symptomatic treatment is available, and there is no other good treatment method. It usually occurs on the 2nd to 9th day of treatment and can be recovered after drug withdrawal. The mortality rate within 2 days of symptom onset can be up to 40%, and similar symptoms may also occur in older children and adults.
