Antibiotics are an effective solution for treating respiratory infections in children, but broad-spectrum ones, which target more bacteria, cause more side effects. Explanations.
“Antibiotics are not automatic”: a slogan that has stuck in everyone’s mind. We now know that antibiotics are not always effective. What is less well known is the existence of different types of antibiotics: broad spectrum and narrow spectrum. The difference is the number of bacteria they target: the former destroy more than the latter. A study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the United States shows that while both are effective, the side effects are less numerous with narrow-spectrum antibiotics in the treatment of respiratory infections in children. The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, relayed by the Eurekalert site!.
At equal effectiveness, more risk of side effects
Scientists are interested in three types of respiratory infections: ear infections, strep throat and sinusitis. Their study is based on the cases 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 others according to data from medical teams. Figures collected from patients and their families indicate that this rate is 35.6% for broad-spectrum antibiotics, and 25.1% for others. However, the treatments were also effective regardless of the type of antibiotic prescribed.
The challenge of antibiotic resistance
Using narrow-spectrum antibiotics can also decrease the body’s risk of resistance to antibiotics. This is a real issue today: the European Center for Disease Control estimates the number of deaths linked to antibiotic resistance to 25,000 every year in Europe.
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