Children in the US are still being incorrectly and over-prescribed antibiotics, new research has shown.
Published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the study showed that children under 2 years of age in US emergency departments are regularly prescribed antibiotics to treat bronchiolitis, a common viral lung infection in the young.
The news comes despite the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guideline’s advice not to routinely use antibiotics in children with the disease, as it carries an extremely low risk (below 1%) of causing any bacterial infection.
The study authors analysed data collected by the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care
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