Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Published January 17, 2019 00:15 ET (News release from Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society)
Despite recommendations issued more than a decade ago, antibiotics are still routinely prescribed in U.S. emergency rooms for infants with bronchiolitis, an acute viral infection of the lower respiratory tract. The American Academy of Pediatrics 2006 guidelines recommend against antibiotic treatment for bronchiolitis in children without documented bacterial infection. The study found that, between 2007 and 2015, 25 per cent of children under two years with bronchiolitis who were seen in an emergency room received antibiotics. Of these cases, only 30 per cent had a bacterial infection.
Canadian co-author: Brett Burstein, Montreal Children’s Hospital and McGill University – brett.burstein@mail.mcgill.ca
