title: How long should we treat this infection for?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Carroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kerrison
authors.forename: F Andrew I
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Riordan
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Infectious Diseases; Pharmacology