the researchers. Gentamicin is commonly prescribed alongside
aminopenicillins, which the study showed also has low effectiveness in
combating bloodstream infections in babies and children. “Antibiotic
resistance is rising more rapidly than we realize,” said study lead author
Phoebe Williams from the University of Sydney. “We urgently need
new solutions to stop invasive multidrug-resistant infections and the
needless deaths of thousands of children each year,” Williams said. The
study analysed 6,648 bacterial isolates from 11 countries across 86
publications to review antibiotic susceptibility for common bacteria
causing childhood infections. The data collated largely arose from urban
tertiary hospital settings with over-representation from particular
countries, especially India and China. Williams said that the best way to
tackle antibiotic resistance in childhood infections is to make funding to
investigate new antibiotic treatments for children and newborns a priority.
“Antibiotic clinical focus on adults and too often children and newborns
are left out. That means we have very limited options and data for new
treatments,” she noted. “This study reveals important problems regarding
the availability of effective antibiotics to treat serious infections in
children,” said study senior author Paul Turner, a professor at the
University of Oxford, UK. “It also highlights the ongoing need for high
quality laboratory data to monitor the AMR situation, which will facilitate
timely changes to be made to treatment guidelines,” Turner added.
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