Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK

Objective To examine if the weight of a child determines adverse events following oral antibiotics prescription.Design Population respective cohort using linked general practice (GP), hospital data and linkage with the Welsh Demographic Service for demographic information. Data linkage was performed...

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Main Authors: Sinead Brophy, David Tuthill, Jonathan Kennedy, Dyfrig Hughes, Hamish Laing, Rhiannon K Owen, Mike J Seaborne, Ayodele Vincent Opatola, Robert Bracchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2024-12-01
Series:BMJ Paediatrics Open
Online Access:https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/8/1/e002831.full
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author Sinead Brophy
David Tuthill
Jonathan Kennedy
Dyfrig Hughes
Hamish Laing
Rhiannon K Owen
Mike J Seaborne
Ayodele Vincent Opatola
Robert Bracchi
author_facet Sinead Brophy
David Tuthill
Jonathan Kennedy
Dyfrig Hughes
Hamish Laing
Rhiannon K Owen
Mike J Seaborne
Ayodele Vincent Opatola
Robert Bracchi
author_sort Sinead Brophy
collection DOAJ
description Objective To examine if the weight of a child determines adverse events following oral antibiotics prescription.Design Population respective cohort using linked general practice (GP), hospital data and linkage with the Welsh Demographic Service for demographic information. Data linkage was performed using Wales health data, extracted from the SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) databank.Inclusion Children (0–12 years) prescribed oral antibiotics by their GP in Wales.Exposure Antibiotic prescription (penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, dihydropyrimidines, nitroimidazoles, nitrofurans, lincosamides).Outcome Adverse event as defined by; patients’ death within 5 days, records of emergency admission within 5 days and GP records of adverse drug reactions or prescription of another antibiotic within 14 days.Analysis Logistic regression of adverse events versus no adverse events at follow-up time.Results There were 139 571 prescriptions of the selected antibiotics and 71 541 children (51.39% male) included with follow-up data of which there were 25 445 (18.23% of all prescriptions) children experienced adverse outcomes. There was higher odds of adverse events for lower weight children and those who were younger, female, of Asian origin or deprived.Conclusion The findings support the hypothesis that smaller children for their age (eg, low weight, female, Asian) are more likely to experience adverse events following antibiotics prescription. This work suggests child weight, in addition to age, should be used when prescribing antibiotics to children in primary care.
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spelling doaj-art-5110380c7cad43aa96f76151f1fb5fc02025-08-20T02:37:43ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Paediatrics Open2399-97722024-12-018110.1136/bmjpo-2024-002831Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UKSinead Brophy0David Tuthill1Jonathan Kennedy2Dyfrig Hughes3Hamish Laing4Rhiannon K Owen5Mike J Seaborne6Ayodele Vincent Opatola7Robert Bracchi8Population Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK7 Paediatrics, Children`s hospital for Wales, Cardiff, Cardiff, UKData Science, Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, UK3 Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation, Bangor University, Bangor, WalesVBHC Academy, School of Management, Swansea University, Swansea, UKPopulation Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UKNational Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UKNational Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, UKNHS All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre, Llandough, UKObjective To examine if the weight of a child determines adverse events following oral antibiotics prescription.Design Population respective cohort using linked general practice (GP), hospital data and linkage with the Welsh Demographic Service for demographic information. Data linkage was performed using Wales health data, extracted from the SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) databank.Inclusion Children (0–12 years) prescribed oral antibiotics by their GP in Wales.Exposure Antibiotic prescription (penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, dihydropyrimidines, nitroimidazoles, nitrofurans, lincosamides).Outcome Adverse event as defined by; patients’ death within 5 days, records of emergency admission within 5 days and GP records of adverse drug reactions or prescription of another antibiotic within 14 days.Analysis Logistic regression of adverse events versus no adverse events at follow-up time.Results There were 139 571 prescriptions of the selected antibiotics and 71 541 children (51.39% male) included with follow-up data of which there were 25 445 (18.23% of all prescriptions) children experienced adverse outcomes. There was higher odds of adverse events for lower weight children and those who were younger, female, of Asian origin or deprived.Conclusion The findings support the hypothesis that smaller children for their age (eg, low weight, female, Asian) are more likely to experience adverse events following antibiotics prescription. This work suggests child weight, in addition to age, should be used when prescribing antibiotics to children in primary care.https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/8/1/e002831.full
spellingShingle Sinead Brophy
David Tuthill
Jonathan Kennedy
Dyfrig Hughes
Hamish Laing
Rhiannon K Owen
Mike J Seaborne
Ayodele Vincent Opatola
Robert Bracchi
Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK
BMJ Paediatrics Open
title Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK
title_full Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK
title_fullStr Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK
title_full_unstemmed Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK
title_short Association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children: a national data study in Wales, UK
title_sort association of child weight and adverse outcomes following antibiotic prescriptions in children a national data study in wales uk
url https://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/8/1/e002831.full
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