Infants, children and adolescents are at risk of life-threatening, antimicrobial-resistant infections. Global burdens of drug-resistant TB, HIV and gram-negative pathogens have a particular impact on paediatric age groups, necessitating a paediatric-focused agenda to address emerging resistance. Dedicated approaches are needed to find, successfully treat and prevent resistant infections in paediatric populations worldwide. Challenges include the diagnosis and identification of resistant infections, limited access to novel antimicrobials or to paediatric-friendly formulations, limited access to research and clinical trials and implementation challenges related to prevention and successful completion of treatment. In this review, the particular complexities of emerging resistance in TB, HIV and gram-negative pathogens in children, with attention to both clinical and public health challenges, are highlighted. Key principles of a paediatric-focused agenda to address antimicrobial resistance are outlined. They include quality of care, increasing equitable access to key diagnostics, expanding antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention across global settings, and health system strengthening. Increased access to research studies, including clinical trials, is needed. Further study and implementation of care models and strategies for child- or adolescent-centred management of infections such as HIV and TB can critically improve outcome and avoid development of resistance. As the current global pandemic of a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, threatens to disrupt health systems and services for vulnerable populations, this is a critical time to mitigate against a potential surge in the incidence of resistant infections.
Keywords: Drug resistance; HIV; adolescents; antimicrobial resistance; gram-negative bacteria; paediatrics; tuberculosis.