Multinational consensus antimicrobial stewardship recommendations for children managed in hospital settings

Abstract

Children are entitled to receive antibiotic therapy that is based on evidence and best practice, but might be overlooked in hospital programmes designed to achieve antimicrobial stewardship [AMS]. This failure to include children could be because children make up small proportion of patients in most hospitals, and are cared for by specialised paediatric staff. We reviewed the evidence and consulted experts in three global regions to develop ten recommendations for good-practice in hospital AMS programmes for children. We performed a review of scientific research, published between Jan 1, 2007, and Oct 17, 2019, concerning AMS, and formed a multinational expert group comprising members from the USA, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand to develop the recommendations. These recommendations aim to help health-care workers who care for children in these regions to deliver best-practice care. We surveyed health-care workers with expertise in antibiotic therapy for children across these regions, and found that the recommendations were considered both very important and generally feasible. These recommendations should be implemented in hospitals to improve antibiotic therapy for children and to stimulate research into future improvements in care.