Safety of histamine-2 receptor blockers in hospitalized VLBW infants

Abstract Background Histamine-2 receptor (H 2 ) blockers are often used in very low birth weight infants despite lack of population specific efficacy and safety data. Aims We sought to describe safety and temporal trends in histamine-2 receptor (H 2 ) blocker use in hospitalized very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Study design We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a clinical database populated by an electronic health record shared by 348 neonatal intensive care units in the United States. Subjects We included all VLBW infants without major congenital anomalies. Outcome measures We used multivariable logistic regression with generalizing estimating equations to evaluate the association between days of H 2 blocker exposure and risk of: 1) death or necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC); 2) death or sepsis; and 3) death, NEC, or sepsis. Results Of 127,707 infants, 20,288 (16%) were exposed to H 2 blockers for a total of 6,422,352 days. Median gestational age for infants exposed to H 2 blockers was 27 weeks (25th 75th percentile 26, 29). H 2 blocker use decreased from 18% of infants in 1997 to 8% in 2012 (p  2 blockers (odds ratio = 1.14) (95% confidence interval 1.08, 1.19). Conclusions H 2 blocker use is associated with increased risk of the combined outcome of death, NEC, or sepsis in hospitalized VLBW infants.