RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 How long should we treat this infection for?
JF Archives of disease in childhood - Education & practice edition
JO Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 136
OP 140
DO 10.1136/archdischild-2013-304135
VO 98
IS 4
A1 Carroline Kerrison
A1 F Andrew I Riordan
YR 2013
UL http://ep.bmj.com/content/98/4/136.abstract
AB Infection accounts for approximately half of all paediatric admissions to hospital and an even greater proportion of primary care. Guidelines on duration of antibiotic therapy exist, but antibiotic therapy for children needs to be individualised. If a child is not improving the clinical condition and treatment should be reviewed and/or discussed with an expert. However, slavishly completing the recommended course of antibiotics in a child who is well, may not be appropriate. Recent studies on treatment duration advocate shortened courses with certain caveats, but guidelines and clinical practice do not always follow the evidence from the few randomised trials of treatment duration of infection.