New research indicates that prescribing antibiotics to children with cough does not lower the risk for hospitalisation. The findings were published in the British Journal of General Practice.
Researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Southampton, Oxford and Kings College, London, analysed data from a study of 8320 children (aged 3 months-15 years) presenting to a general practitioner (GP) with cough. They determined whether there were adverse outcomes within 30 days of visiting the GP.
0.8% of children were hospitalised and 4% needed to revisit their GP for worsening of symptoms. There was no robust evidence that use of antibiotics reduced hospitalisation for children. It was observed that delayed antibiotic prescribing (handing a prescription to parents or carers and advising to use only if symptoms worsen) lowered the revisits to the GP. However, only 9% received delayed antibiotic prescriptions, while 28% received immediate antibiotic prescriptions.
Dr Niamh Redmond, the lead author said: "Most children who present to their GP with acute cough and respiratory infection symptoms are at low risk of hospitalisation and antibiotics are unlikely to reduce this already small risk." He emphasised the need to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing to combat the growing public health menace of antimicrobial resistance.