Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children

<h4>Background</h4> <p>Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, responsible for more than 14% of deaths in children younger than 5 years of age. Due to difficulties with pathogen identification and diagnostics of CAP in children, t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rodrigues, C
Format: Journal article
Published: Elsevier 2017
_version_ 1826303737632653312
author Rodrigues, C
author_facet Rodrigues, C
author_sort Rodrigues, C
collection OXFORD
description <h4>Background</h4> <p>Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, responsible for more than 14% of deaths in children younger than 5 years of age. Due to difficulties with pathogen identification and diagnostics of CAP in children, targeted antimicrobial therapy is not possible, hence the widespread use of empirical antibiotics, in particular penicillins, cephalosporin, and macrolides.</p> <h4>Objectives</h4> <p>This review aimed to address medical, societal, and political issues associated with the widespread use of empirical antibiotics for CAP in the United Kingdom, India, and Nigeria.</p> <h4>Methods</h4> <p>A literature review was performed identifying the challenges pertaining to the use of widespread empirical antibiotics for CAP in children. A qualitative analysis of included studies identified relevant themes. Empirical guidance was based on guidelines from the World Health Organization, British Thoracic Society, and Infectious Diseases Society of America, used in both industrialized and resource-poor settings.</p> <h4>Results</h4> <p>In the United Kingdom there was poor adherence to antibiotics guidelines. There was developing antibiotic resistance to penicillins and macrolides in both developing and industrialized regions. There were difficulties accessing the care and treatment when needed in Nigeria. Prevention strategies with vaccination against Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza, and measles are particularly important in these regions.</p> <h4>Conclusions</h4> <p>Effective and timely treatment is required for CAP and empirical antibiotics are evidencebased and appropriate in most settings. However, better diagnostics and education to target treatment may help to prevent antibiotic resistance. Ensuring the secure financing of clean food and water, sanitation, and public health infrastructure are also required to reduce the burden of disease in children in developing countries.</p>
first_indexed 2024-03-07T06:07:16Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:ee47c526-c652-415d-869c-4675cfa4af8c
institution University of Oxford
last_indexed 2024-03-07T06:07:16Z
publishDate 2017
publisher Elsevier
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:ee47c526-c652-415d-869c-4675cfa4af8c2022-03-27T11:31:25ZChallenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in childrenJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:ee47c526-c652-415d-869c-4675cfa4af8cSymplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2017Rodrigues, C <h4>Background</h4> <p>Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, responsible for more than 14% of deaths in children younger than 5 years of age. Due to difficulties with pathogen identification and diagnostics of CAP in children, targeted antimicrobial therapy is not possible, hence the widespread use of empirical antibiotics, in particular penicillins, cephalosporin, and macrolides.</p> <h4>Objectives</h4> <p>This review aimed to address medical, societal, and political issues associated with the widespread use of empirical antibiotics for CAP in the United Kingdom, India, and Nigeria.</p> <h4>Methods</h4> <p>A literature review was performed identifying the challenges pertaining to the use of widespread empirical antibiotics for CAP in children. A qualitative analysis of included studies identified relevant themes. Empirical guidance was based on guidelines from the World Health Organization, British Thoracic Society, and Infectious Diseases Society of America, used in both industrialized and resource-poor settings.</p> <h4>Results</h4> <p>In the United Kingdom there was poor adherence to antibiotics guidelines. There was developing antibiotic resistance to penicillins and macrolides in both developing and industrialized regions. There were difficulties accessing the care and treatment when needed in Nigeria. Prevention strategies with vaccination against Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza, and measles are particularly important in these regions.</p> <h4>Conclusions</h4> <p>Effective and timely treatment is required for CAP and empirical antibiotics are evidencebased and appropriate in most settings. However, better diagnostics and education to target treatment may help to prevent antibiotic resistance. Ensuring the secure financing of clean food and water, sanitation, and public health infrastructure are also required to reduce the burden of disease in children in developing countries.</p>
spellingShingle Rodrigues, C
Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children
title Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children
title_full Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children
title_fullStr Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children
title_full_unstemmed Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children
title_short Challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in children
title_sort challenges of empirical antibiotic therapy for community acquired pneumonia in children
work_keys_str_mv AT rodriguesc challengesofempiricalantibiotictherapyforcommunityacquiredpneumoniainchildren