Smaller Children Hit Harder by Antibiotic Mishaps

TOPLINE:

This study’s results suggest that when prescribing oral antibiotics to children, both age and body weight should be taken into account.

METHODOLOGY: 

• A retrospective cohort study of primary care databases in Wales.
• Population of interest was 71,541 children aged 0-12 years prescribed oral antibiotics by a general practitioner in 2014-2023.
• The authors used a statistical model to measure weights of possible risk factors like age, weight centiles, ethnicity, deprivation, and sex.
• The outcome of interest was adverse events, including death or emergency admission within 5 days, or adverse event or new antibiotic within 14 days.

TAKEAWAY:

• The combined outcome took place in 18.23% of all prescriptions.
• It was likelier in children at lower weight for their age (6% higher odds), female (13% higher odds), Asian ethnicity (22% higher odds than Whites).
• Lower-risk ages were 0-28 days and 5-14 years compared with those aged 1-4 years.
• Hospital admission within 5 days was likelier for children in the most socioeconomically deprived quintile as well as smaller, lower-weight in some age groups, and Asian-ethnicity children.

IN PRACTICE:

“…[T]hese findings underscore the importance of considering weight alongside age when prescribing oral antibiotics to children, offering a potential avenue to mitigate adverse events in this population,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

Conducted by Wales-based researchers, the study appeared in BMJ Paediatrics Open. 

LIMITATIONS:

The proportion of children with Asian ancestry in the study was small, making confidence intervals uncertain. Causal link not established. Weight may have been a proxy for worse underlying health.

DISCLOSURES:

Health Data Research UK funded the study. The authors stated they had no relevant disclosures.