Suggested antibiotic treatment duration in days as recommended by various organisations
| BNFc | RCPCH Manual | NICE | SIGN | AAP | IDSA | Cochrane | RCTs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRTI/pneumonia | 7 | 5 | DNG | – | ≤10 | ≤10 | 5 | 3 [25–27] |
| Streptococcal pharyngitis | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3–6* | 3–6* | |
| UTI | ||||||||
| Upper | 7–10 | 7–10 | 7–10 | – | 7–14† | – | 7–14 | |
| Lower | 3 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | 2–4 | |
| Osteomyelitis | 42 | 28–42 | – | – | Until CRP <20 [7] | |||
| Septic arthritis | 28–42 | 21–28 | – | – | 10 [37] | |||
| Meningitis | ||||||||
| Meningococcal | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 [6] | ||
| Pneumococcal | 14 | 14 | 14 | – | 10–14 | 5 [6] | ||
| Hib | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | 7 | 5 [6] | ||
| Unknown | At least 10 | At least 10 | At least 10 | – | – | |||
*Not penicillin V.
†Febrile infants 2–24 months with urinary tract infection.
AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org/); BNFc, British National Formulary for Children 2011–2012 (http://www.bnf.org/bnf/index.htm); Cochrane, Cochrane review (http://www.cochrane.org/cochrane-reviews); CRP, C reactive protein; DNG, duration not given; IDSA, Infectious Diseases Society of America (http://www.idsociety.org/IDSA_Practice_Guidelines/); NICE, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (http://www.nice.org.uk/); RCPCH Manual, Manual of Childhood Infections 2011 (oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780199573585.001.0001/med-9780199573585); RCTs, randomised controlled trial; SIGN, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (http://www.sign.ac.uk/); LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection.