Antimicrobial stewardship in children: Where to from here?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an ever-developing global threat and children are becoming increasingly affected. In addition to established antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) measures, it is important to recognise the need for a paediatric focus to manage the physiological and pathological differences unique to children. Most studies on paediatric AMS are drawn from resource-rich, hospital settings. They support interventions including AMS programmes, bundled groups of interventions, guidelines and education initiatives. These must be tailored to specific institutions, populations and resources as translating interventions between these may not be effective. There are knowledge gaps in paediatric AMS, which pose challenges to designing both interventions and research in this area. These include quantifying antimicrobial consumption, defining AMS outcomes and understanding the development of AMR. Finding answers to fill these gaps needs urgent attention. There is also a need to think outside the box to improve AMS in children. Potential opportunities include intravenous antibiotics at home via hospital-in-the-home programmes, earlier switching to oral antibiotics, repurposing old antibiotics and re-evaluating children labelled as having antibiotic allergy. Using all of the possibilities available gives us the best chance of staying ahead of the relentless march of AMR in children.