TY - JOUR TI - Efficacy and safety of colistin loading dose: A meta-analysis AU - Bellos, I. AU - Pergialiotis, V. AU - Frountzas, M. AU - Kontzoglou, K. AU - Daskalakis, G. AU - Perrea, D.N. JO - The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy PY - 2020 VL - 75 TODO - 7 SP - 1689-1698 PB - Oxford University Press SN - null TODO - 10.1093/jac/dkaa064 TODO - colistin; aminoglycoside; carbapenem derivative; ceftazidime; cephalosporin derivative; ciprofloxacin; colistimethate; colistin; meropenem; penicillin derivative; sulbactam; tigecycline; vancomycin; colistin, Acinetobacter infection; antibiotic therapy; Article; clinical outcome; drug efficacy; drug megadose; drug safety; hospital acquired pneumonia; human; loading drug dose; meta analysis; mortality risk; multidrug resistant bacterium; nephrotoxicity; randomized controlled trial (topic); treatment response; ventilator associated pneumonia; adult; Cochrane Library; cohort analysis; estimated glomerular filtration rate; hospital infection; maintenance drug dose; Medline; mortality; observational study; practice guideline; prospective study; retrospective study; Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of kidney function and End-stage kidney disease classification; sample size; Scopus; systematic review; treatment duration; ventilator associated pneumonia; treatment outcome, Colistin; Humans; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Treatment Outcome TODO - Colistin represents a polypeptide used for the treatment of MDR microorganisms, although the optimal dosing strategy is under investigation. The present meta-analysis aims to determine whether the administration of a colistin loading dose in patients receiving high-dose maintenance regimens changes the rates of treatment success and the risk of nephrotoxicity. Methods: Medline, Scopus, CENTRAL, Clinicaltrials.gov and Google Scholar were systematically searched from inception to 18 November 2019. Studies were considered eligible if they reported clinical outcomes among patients receiving high-dose colistin therapy with and without the administration of a loading dose. Meta-analysis was performed by fitting a random-effects model. Results: Eight (three prospective and five retrospective cohort) studies were included, comprising 1115 patients. The administration of a colistin loading dose was associated with significantly higher microbiological [risk ratio (RR) = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.10-1.39] but not clinical (RR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.87-1.24) success. No significant associations were calculated for nephrotoxicity (RR = 1.31, 95% CI = 0.90-1.91) and mortality (RR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.82-1.29) risk. The results remained stable after adjustments for small sample size, credibility ceilings, publication bias and risk of bias. Conclusions: Observational evidence suggests that the administration of a colistin loading dose in patients receiving high maintenance dosage regimens is significantly associated with higher rates of microbiological response, but does not change clinical cure, mortality or nephrotoxicity risk. The dosing regimen that would provide the optimal balance between treatment efficacy and safety needs to be determined by future randomized controlled trials. © 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. ER -