Viral lower respiratory tract infections caused by influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) are a leading cause of hospitalization in children in the United States. While antibiotics are ineffective at treating viral infections, children are often prescribed antibiotics to combat bacterial coinfection. Unnecessary antibiotic use in cases without bacterial coinfection is a contributing factor to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
In an article published in BMC Pediatrics, Ritu Banerjee, MD, PhD, professor of Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and colleagues evaluated antibiotic use in children with viral lower respiratory tract infections. The study included 1,718 patients under age 19 who had been hospitalized between 2020 and 2023 at Monroe Carell with influenza, RSV or COVID-19. The investigators monitored laboratory results and prescription records for each patient to identify whether bacterial coinfections were present and whether antibiotics were prescribed. While 45.7% of patients received at least one dose of antibiotics, only 8% of patients were diagnosed with a bacterial coinfection in which antibiotics would be an appropriate treatment, suggesting antibiotics are overused.
The investigators note that their findings provide the opportunity to spread awareness for antibiotic stewardship among clinicians in efforts to ensure appropriate antibiotic usage and improve patient outcomes.
Banerjee holds the Mark R. Denison, MD Directorship in Pediatrics. Additional collaborators include first author, Mrinmoyee Kalasikam, an MD candidate at University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine; Natalia Jimenex-Truque, MSCI, PhD, assistant professor of Pediatrics at Monroe Carell; and Anisa B. Kloek, a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
