Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.8
2.1
Journals
Children
Special Issues
Recent Advances and Challenges of Antibiotic Use in Children
share announcement

Recent Advances and Challenges of Antibiotic Use in Children

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 5950

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yanhong Jessika Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Interests: optimising antibiotic use and reducing antimicrobial resistance; improving safe medicine use for mothers and children

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance represents a substantial threat to the health of children worldwide with increasing rates of highly resistant infections reported from every country with the capacity to diagnose them. However, the pipeline for new antibiotics is extremely limited, and with historically long lag times between the approval for adults and for children, any promising drugs will still not be available for decades. The consumption of unnecessary or incorrectly prescribed antibiotics is an important factor contributing to selective pressure for antibiotic resistance development. With more consumption and fewer effective antibiotics available, many advances in modern medicine, including cancer care, transplantation and even routine surgery are threatened by the potential emergence of untreatable infectious complications. Therefore, we welcome high-quality submissions from all pediatric clinicians, researchers, public health practitioners and pharmacists around the world that highlight current challenges and advances in pediatric antibiotic use or that explore strategies for optimizing and accelerating antibiotic development in children. The types of papers accepted in this Special Issue include original articles, reviews and perspectives.

Thank you for considering this Special Issue of Children for your scholarly work.

Dr. Yanhong Jessika Hu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antibiotics
  • children
  • optimising
  • strategy
  • development

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

15 pages, 4154 KiB  
Article
Impact of Antibiotic Stewardship on Treatment of Hospitalized Children with Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections
by Giulia Brigadoi, Sara Rossin, Lorenzo Chiusaroli, Giulia Camilla Demarin, Linda Maestri, Francesca Tesser, Martina Matarazzo, Cecilia Liberati, Elisa Barbieri, Carlo Giaquinto, Liviana Da Dalt, Silvia Bressan and Daniele Donà
Children 2024, 11(11), 1325; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11111325 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 979
Abstract
Background: Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) are common infectious syndromes in children. Overusing broad-spectrum antibiotics has contributed to rising antibiotic resistance, complicating treatment outcomes. To address this issue, antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been implemented to optimize antibiotic use. This study evaluated the [...] Read more.
Background: Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) are common infectious syndromes in children. Overusing broad-spectrum antibiotics has contributed to rising antibiotic resistance, complicating treatment outcomes. To address this issue, antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been implemented to optimize antibiotic use. This study evaluated the impact of a multifaceted ASP on antibiotic prescribing practices for SSTIs in a pediatric acute care setting over eight years. Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental study at the Pediatric Acute Care Unit of the Padua University Hospital, including children admitted with SSTIs from October 2014 to September 2022, to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted ASP implemented in October 2015. The study was divided into three periods: pre-implementation (October 2014–September 2015), post-implementation (October 2015–March 2020), and COVID-19 (April 2020–August 2022). Data on antibiotic prescriptions and microbiological results were collected and analyzed. Results: The implementation of the ASP led to a significant reduction in the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, particularly third-generation cephalosporins (from 40.4% to 9.8%) and glycopeptides (from 21.1% to 1.6%). There was a notable increase in the prescription of Access antibiotics, from 30% in the pre-implementation to over 60% in the post-implementation and 80% during COVID-19. No increase in the hospital length of stay was observed. Microbiological results showed no significant changes in bacterial profiles over time. Conclusions: The use of the ASP effectively improved antibiotic prescribing practices, reducing reliance on broad-spectrum antibiotics even during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the value of ongoing stewardship efforts and suggest the need for similar programs in ambulatory settings to further address antibiotic resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Challenges of Antibiotic Use in Children)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

22 pages, 438 KiB  
Review
Recent Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment of Invasive Candidiasis in Neonates
by Maria Baltogianni, Vasileios Giapros and Niki Dermitzaki
Children 2024, 11(10), 1207; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11101207 - 30 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2593
Abstract
Invasive Candida infections represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), particularly among preterm and low birth weight neonates. The nonspecific clinical presentation of invasive candidiasis, resembling that of bacterial sepsis with multiorgan involvement, makes the [...] Read more.
Invasive Candida infections represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), particularly among preterm and low birth weight neonates. The nonspecific clinical presentation of invasive candidiasis, resembling that of bacterial sepsis with multiorgan involvement, makes the diagnosis challenging. Given the atypical clinical presentation and the potential detrimental effects of delayed treatment, empirical treatment is often initiated in cases with high clinical suspicion. This underscores the need to develop alternative laboratory methods other than cultures, which are known to have low sensitivity and a prolonged detection time, to optimize therapeutic strategies. Serum biomarkers, including mannan antigen/anti-mannan antibody and 1,3-β-D-glucan (BDG), both components of the yeast cell wall, a nano-diagnostic method utilizing T2 magnetic resonance, and Candida DNA detection by PCR-based techniques have been investigated as adjuncts to body fluid cultures and have shown promising results in improving diagnostic efficacy and shortening detection time in neonatal populations. This review aims to provide an overview of the diagnostic tools and the current management strategies for invasive candidiasis in neonates. Timely and accurate diagnosis followed by targeted antifungal treatment can significantly improve the survival and outcome of neonates affected by Candida species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Challenges of Antibiotic Use in Children)

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

18 pages, 5307 KiB  
Systematic Review
Association Between In-Utero Exposure to Antibiotics and Offspring’s Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Jing Wang, Nur Farah Addina Lee Binte Zailan, Yichao Wang, Samuel Lake and Yanhong Jessika Hu
Children 2025, 12(3), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12030356 - 13 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1267
Abstract
Objectives: Antibiotic exposure during pregnancy is common, accounting for over 80% of all medications prescribed. Antibiotics in pregnancy are linked to increased childhood disease risk, through direct toxicity or potentially microbiome dysbiosis. This systematic review investigated the relationship between in-utero exposure to antibiotics [...] Read more.
Objectives: Antibiotic exposure during pregnancy is common, accounting for over 80% of all medications prescribed. Antibiotics in pregnancy are linked to increased childhood disease risk, through direct toxicity or potentially microbiome dysbiosis. This systematic review investigated the relationship between in-utero exposure to antibiotics and childhood hearing loss. Methods: We searched Ovid Medline, Embase, and PubMed for studies examining antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and its associations with hearing loss in offspring. Studies with children whose mothers had data on antibiotic exposure during pregnancy were selected. The meta-analysis calculated (1) pooled prevalence of childhood hearing loss and (2) pooled odds ratios (ORs) for associations between in-utero exposure to antibiotics and childhood hearing loss. Results: Of 1244 studies identified, 18 met the inclusion criteria. Among 161,053 children exposed in-utero to antibiotics, 4368 developed hearing loss. The pooled prevalence of childhood hearing loss was 0.9% (95% CI 0.0–2.8%, I2 = 99.6%). In-utero exposure to antibiotics was associated with an increased risk of childhood hearing loss (pooled OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3, I2 = 15.4%). Aminoglycoside exposure during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of hearing loss (pooled OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3, I2 = 38.4%), while exposure to other antibiotic classes showed no association. Conclusions: The prevalence of childhood hearing loss among those exposed to antibiotics during pregnancy is high. Although the overall risk appears modest, aminoglycosides are linked to a significantly higher risk, suggesting maternal aminoglycoside exposure may indicate a risk for child hearing loss. Further research is needed to clarify causal pathways and long-term effects of in-utero exposure to antibiotics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Challenges of Antibiotic Use in Children)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop