‘Caution is needed’
Dr. Tej K. Mattoo
The study “highlights an intriguing observation about children with UTIs unexpectedly responding to discordant antibiotic therapy,” Tej K. Mattoo, MD, and Basim I. Asmar, MD, wrote in an accompanying commentary.(doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-3512). Dr. Mattoo and Dr. Asmar, a pediatric nephrologist and a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases, respectively, at Wayne State University and affiliated with Children’s Hospital of Michigan, both in Detroit.
In an inpatient setting, it may be easy for physicians to reassess patients “once urine culture results reveal resistance to the treating antibiotic,” they noted. In an ambulatory setting, however, “it is likely that some patients will receive a full course of an antibiotic that does not have in vitro activity against the urinary pathogen.”
Physicians have a responsibility to use antibiotics judiciously, they said. Widely accepted principles include avoiding repeated courses of antibiotics, diagnosing UTIs appropriately, and not treating asymptomatic bacteriuria.
The study had no external funding. The authors had no relevant financial disclosures.
SOURCE: Wang ME et al. Pediatrics. 2020 Jan 17. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-1608.
This article was updated 2/4/2020.