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Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Analyses of Murine Intestinal Microbiota After Oral Antibiotic Treatment
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Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Analyses of Murine Intestinal Microbiota After Oral Antibiotic Treatment

Published on: November 17, 2018

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Shorter versus longer-course of antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infections in pediatric population: an updated

Marcus Vinicius Barbosa Moreira1, Lucas Rezende de Freitas2, Luiza Mendes Fonseca3

  • 1Department of Medicine, Potiguar University, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 1610 - Lagoa Nova, Natal, Brazil. marcus.vbmoreira1@gmail.com.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|March 7, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Longer antibiotic courses (≥7 days) for pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs) show lower treatment failure rates compared to shorter courses (≤5 days). Reinfection and relapse rates were similar between groups within 15 months.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Clinical pharmacology

Background:

  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common bacterial infections in febrile children.
  • There is no established consensus on the optimal duration of oral antibiotic therapy for pediatric UTIs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the effectiveness of short-course (≤5 days) versus long-course (≥7 days) oral antibiotic therapy for pediatric UTIs.
  • To assess treatment failure, reinfection, and relapse rates in children with UTIs based on antibiotic therapy duration.

Main Methods:

  • A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted.
  • Searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases.
  • Seventeen studies involving 1666 pediatric patients were analyzed using statistical methods and risk of bias assessment.

Main Results:

  • Short-course antibiotic therapy was associated with significantly higher treatment failure rates (RR 1.61; p=0.006).
  • No statistically significant differences were found in reinfection (RR 0.73; p=0.156) or relapse rates (RR 1.47; p=0.270) between short and long-course therapies within 15 months.

Conclusions:

  • Long-course oral antibiotic therapy appears more effective in reducing treatment failure for pediatric UTIs.
  • Current evidence does not support a difference in reinfection or relapse rates based on therapy duration within a 15-month period.

Keywords:
Anti-bacterial agentsCystitisPediatric urinary tract infectionPyelonephritis

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