Decision-Making Tool Could Reduce Antibiotic Use

Investigators have identified seven key predictors that could help determine if a child with a respiratory tract infection and cough requires antibiotics. The predictors include an illness of less than three days; fever of 100 F (37.7 C) or higher; a child younger than two years of age; respiratory distress; wheezing; asthma; and moderate/severe vomiting in the previous 24 hours. The researchers suggest that children with one or fewer of these predictors are at very low risk for future complications. They add that the decision-making tool could reduce antibiotic use among children with respiratory infection and cough by 10%. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, September 2016