According to a Bayesian meta-analysis of data obtained from randomized clinical trials, the use of the antibiotic cefepime is associated with a higher rate of all-cause mortality compared to other beta-lactam antibiotics.
The study established that the probability of this association is 98.6 percent with posterior probability. Furthermore, a more comprehensive analysis confirmed that when using cefepime, the odds ratio for death exceeds one with a posterior probability of 94.4 percent.
Despite these findings, researchers do not recommend completely excluding cefepime from practice. Instead, they call for focusing on optimizing the dosing regimen of this antibiotic.
The results of the analysis were officially published in the journal JAMA Network Open.