Antibiotics in Paediatrics: A Boon or a Bane?

Abstract

Antibiotics play an essential role in antimicrobial therapy. Among all the medications in children, the most commonly prescribed therapy is antibiotics and is currently the indispensable means to cure transmissible diseases. Several categories of antibiotics have been introduced into clinical practice to treat microbial infections. Reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics is a global need and priority. This article aims to provide better knowledge and understanding of the impact of the early use of antibiotics. This article highlights the proper use of antibiotics in children, detailing how early and inappropriate use of antibiotics affect the gut microbiome during normal body development and consequently affect the metabolic by way of diabetes mellitus, obesity, and recurrence of infections such as UTI and resistance factors in neonates, infant and developing child, dose requirement, etc. Several new antibiotics in their development stage, newly marketed antibiotics, some recalled and withdrawn from the market are also briefly discussed in this article. This study will help future researchers to explore the latest information about antibiotics used in paediatrics.