Antibiotics in Children

Choice, timing of antibiotic may be imperative for young children with pneumonia. HealthDay (3/31) reported, "Correct and rapid antibiotic treatment is crucial for critically ill young children" with pneumonia, according to a study in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The researchers found that 71 percent of "45 infants and children, median age 17 months, who had severe bacterial pneumonia and required mechanical ventilation" were initially "treated with the correct antibiotic." But for "these patients, and patients whose initial antibiotic was changed after testing, the median time to treatment with the correct antibiotic was about 10 hours, with a range of two to 38 hours." Overall, the analysis showed that children for whom pneumonia was "their only medical problem, waiting longer for correct antibiotic treatment was associated not only with a longer hospital stay, but with more time in the intensive care unit and on a mechanical ventilator."