More and more children with antibiotic-resistant germs

Antibiotic treatment of children with urinary tract infection can have dire consequences
In recent years, researchers repeatedly warn against a possible spread of antibiotic resistance. Often, contraceptive drugs are prescribed to actually treat harmless illnesses. Scientists have now found that children with urinary tract infections are particularly resistant to antibiotic treatment. Such children are then usually as adults resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

When children are ill, parents can usually quickly prescribe the appropriate medication from the doctor. Especially with urinary tract infections of children, doctors often prescribe antibiotics. This routine use of the drugs leads to the development of resistant pathogens that also affect adults, researchers from the University of Bristol and Imperial College London found in a recent study. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal British Medical Journal (BMJ).

More and more children are resistant to antibiotics due to their routine use in urinary tract infections. (Picture: Tomsickova / Fotolia.com)

Approaches to treat urinary tract infections need to be reconsidered
Scientists from the University of Bristol and Imperial College London investigated the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant germs in children. Study participants had a urinary tract infection caused by Escherichia coli bacteria. The bacterium is responsible for more than 80 percent of all urinary tract infections in children, explain the experts. For treatment then usually antibiotics would be used. It is urgent to reconsider the current approaches to the treatment of urinary tract infections, emphasize the physicians. Antibiotics may not be the right kind of treatment in such cases.

Physicians examined 77,000 samples for their study
Researchers reviewed the results of 58 observational studies in 26 countries in their study. In these previously over 77,000 E. coli samples were analyzed. In the current study, a link between previous exposure to antibiotics and the subsequent resistance of the germs to the drugs should be measured, the researchers explain. A distinction was made in the samples examined, from which countries they came. It was important to know whether the country was a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the so-called OECD member countries, about half of all samples were resistant to ampicillin (amoxicillin), one-third of all samples were resistant to cotrimoxazole and about one-quarter showed resistance to trimethoprim, say the experts. Resistance, however, was even more prevalent in the non-OECD countries.

The use of antibiotics in urinary tract infections can trigger a later resistance
The prevalence of antibiotic resistance is often linked to primary care by antibiotics in children with urinary tract infections, says lead author Ashley Bryce of the University of Bristol. In countries that are not members of the OECD, appropriate drugs can be purchased without a prescription. For this reason, the antibiotic resistance in such countries seems to be higher. The results show that prior use of antibiotics increases the risk of later E. coli resistance to this form of antibiotic, the researchers explain. This condition persists for up to six months after treatment. Céire Costelloe from Imperial College London. (As)