For treating babies with possible serious bacterial infections
FRIDAY, April 3, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Newborns and young infants in developing nations who have suspected severe bacterial infections can be effectively treated outside a hospital, three new studies suggest. The new studies were published online April 1 in The Lancet and The Lancet Global Health.
In one African trial, the children received either amoxicillin in syrup form twice daily or standard antibiotic injections once a day for seven days. The antibiotic syrup was as effective as the injections, and adherence to the liquid antibiotic was better than adherence to the injections, the researchers found. In another African trial, the children received either antibiotic injections or a simplified approach featuring fewer injections combined with oral antibiotics for seven days, with similar successful results. Again, both regimens were equally effective and there was better adherence to the simplified regimen. The findings from those trials appear in The Lancet.
In a Bangladesh study, patients received either standard daily antibiotic injections or a reduced number of injections combined with liquid antibiotics for seven days. As in the other trials, the simplified regimen was as effective as the standard regimen, according to the findings published in The Lancet Global Health.
“This could improve access to care for millions of families in Africa and substantially reduce costs and deaths from possible severe bacterial infections,” Fabian Esamai, Ph.D., professor of child health and pediatrics in the College of Health Sciences at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, said in a journal news release.
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