The Use of Antibiotics in Pediatric Treatment and Its Challenges

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 6872

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Liebig Str. 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Interests: antimicrobial resistance; infectious immunology; molecular biology; microbial metabolism; mitochondria

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the treatment of many pediatric diseases, the use of antibiotics is essential. However, depending on the origin of infections, e.g., from surgery or the gastrointestinal/respiratory/ urinary tract, and the severity of infection (e.g., sepsis), different antibiotics might differ in their effectivity. New types of antibiotics have also emerged in response to the challenge of pathogenic microorganisms to children's health. At the same time, drug resistance caused by excessive use of traditional antibiotics has also become a major problem in the treatment of children. In the context of successful antibiotic therapy in childhood, we should also pay attention to the pathophysiology of distinct infections including microbial pathogenicity factors and the respective immune cell responses. Therefore, we have organized this Special Issue to summarize the opportunities and challenges in pediatric antibiotic treatment.

We welcome high-quality submissions from all pediatric clinicians, researchers and related practitioners around the world. The types of papers accepted in this Special Issue include articles, reviews and perspectives.

Prof. Dr. Brigitte König
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • pediatric
  • new borns
  • preterm
  • infections
  • pathogens
  • pathogenicity factors
  • immune response
  • antibiotics
  • child health

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

12 pages, 676 KiB  
Review
Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Infection in Children: Influence of Antibiotic Therapy on Postconvalescent Excretion and Clinical Course—A Systematic Review
by Johanna L. Leinert, Stefan Weichert, Alexander J. Jordan and Rüdiger Adam
Antibiotics 2021, 10(10), 1187; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10101187 - 29 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6242
Abstract
(1) Background: Although published recommendations are available, the use of antibiotics in non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections in children is still controversially debated in clinical practice. Patients might even be put at risk, with necessary antibiotic therapy being withheld due to the widespread concern [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Although published recommendations are available, the use of antibiotics in non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections in children is still controversially debated in clinical practice. Patients might even be put at risk, with necessary antibiotic therapy being withheld due to the widespread concern of prolonged post-convalescent shedding. The authors conducted a systematic review to assess whether antibiotic treatment influences fecal excretion or the clinical course in children with NTS infection. (2) Methods: The review was carried out following the PRISMA guidelines. In a Medline database search, studies assessing the influence of antibiotic therapy on excretion and/or the clinical course of NTS infections were selected. Studies reporting on adults only were not considered. Out of 532 publications which were identified during the systematic literature search, 14 publications were finally included (3273 patients in total). Quality and bias assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) or the Cochrane risk-of bias tool (ROB-2). (3) Results: Four early studies from decades ago demonstrated a prolongation of intestinal NTS excretion in children after antibiotic treatment, whereas most studies published more recently observed no significant influence, which might be due to having used more “modern” antibiotic regimes (n = 7 studies). Most studies did not describe significant differences regarding the severity and duration of symptoms between untreated patients and those treated with antibiotics. Quality and bias were mainly moderate (NOS) or variable (ROB-2), respectively. (4) Conclusions: There is no substantial evidence of prolonged excretion of NTS in pediatric patients after treatment with newer antimicrobials. Consequently, clinicians should not withhold antibiotics in NTS infection for children at risk, such as for very young children, children with comorbidities, and those with suspected invasive disease due to concerns about prolonged post-convalescent bacterial excretion. In the majority of cases with uncomplicated NTS diarrhea, clinicians should refrain from applying antibiotics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Use of Antibiotics in Pediatric Treatment and Its Challenges)
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