Respiratory Infection in children : antibiotics aggravate the side effects

ilona75/epictura

Published the 31.01.2018 at 17: 25

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Keywords :

infections respiratoiresenfants

“Antibiotics are not automatic”: a slogan remained in all the heads. We now know that antibiotics are not always effective. What is less known is the existence of different types of antibiotics : those with broad-spectrum, and those with narrow-spectrum. The difference is the number of bacteria to which they aim : first to destroy more than the latter. A study of the children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in the United States, shows that if the two are effective, the side effects are less likely with antibiotics to narrow-spectrum in the treatment of respiratory infections of the child. The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, relayed by the site Eurekalert!.

Has efficiency equal, the more risk of side effects

Scientists are interested in three types of respiratory infections : ear infections, tonsillitis streptococcal, and sinusitis. Their study relies on the case of 2 472 children. They interviewed their families, but also caregivers. The risk of having side effects is 3.7% for broad spectrum antibiotics, against 2.7% for the other according to the data of the medical teams. The figures collected from patients and their families indicate that this rate was 35.6% for the broad spectrum antibiotics, and 25.1% for the other. However, the treatments were equally effective regardless of the type of antibiotic prescribed.

The challenge of antibiotic resistance

The use of antibiotics with narrow-spectrum also helps to lower the risk of resistance to antibiotics. It is a real issue today: the european Centre of disease control estimates the number of deaths related to the resistance to antiobiotiques 25,000 in Europe each year.