Part one of major updates to antibiotics guidelines has been published by Therapeutic Guidelines, including updates to medicines for common infections and dosage amounts for both adults and children.
The multidisciplinary update contains more than 200 revised and new clinical topics.
The first release covers content updates on infections commonly managed in primary care, as well as information on serious infections often managed in hospitals, such as pneumonia and sepsis.
It also includes more than 1400 drug recommendations for treating conditions ranging from urinary tract infections to eye infections and sexually transmissible infections.
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One major change is that nitrofurantoin is now recommended as the first-line treatment of acute cystitis in adults because of high trimethoprim resistance among E-coli.
Another is that cefazolin is now recommended as an equal first-line alternative to flucloxacillin for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections – for example bacteraemia, pneumonia, staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome.
Evidence suggests that cefazolin is equally effective for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and it may have a lower risk of acute kidney injury.
Changes to dosage options for children were also included in the update. Doxycycline recommendations are now included for the treatment of infections in children younger than eight years, provided the duration of therapy is less than 21 days, for example for the treatment of bronchiectasis exacerbations.
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The update also includes targeted changes to infection-related content across other guidelines.
More updates are set to follow over the coming 12 months, including updates to surgical antibiotic prophylaxis, tropical and rare diseases, and infections in people with immune compromise.
More information on the more than 200 clinical updates is available here.
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