Asif Noor, MD, FAAP

Amoxicillin, an oral semisynthetic penicillin, is the most common antibiotic associated with childhood medication allergies.

Pediatricians often face the challenge of diagnostic accuracy in conjunctivitis cases. Compared with the common clinical syndromes of otitis media and pharyngitis, conjunctivitis presents less frequently and does not require systemic antibiotics. Nonetheless, not every single red or pink eye needs antibiotic drops.

Community-acquired pneumonia, or CAP, is an inflammation of the lungs caused by a microbe. It is a lower respiratory tract infection acquired in the community as opposed to hospital-acquired or nosocomial pneumonia.

Acute sinusitis is inflammation of mucosa lining of one or more paranasal sinuses. In children, most cases begin as a viral infection that extends from nasal mucosa (rhinitis) onto the mucosal lining of paranasal sinuses (sinusitis).

Skin and soft tissue infections are characterized by invasion of a bacterial pathogen. The type of skin infection correlates with the depth of skin involvement.

UTIs account for 1.1 million pediatric office visits annually and are a significant clinical syndrome in childhood. UTI is typically caused by a bacterial pathogen. The infection involves the lower urinary tract (ie, urethritis, cystitis) or the upper urinary tract (ie, pyelonephritis). Prompt treatment of pyelonephritis is important to prevent renal scarring and associated sequela such as hypertension and end-stage renal disease.

Diagnoses of acute otitis media or suppurative middle ear infection relies chiefly on examination findings of the tympanic membrane. In 2013, the AAP revised its initial 2004 guidelines to include stringent diagnostic criteria and emphasized the need for accurate diagnosis of AOM and otitis media with effusion.

In this bimonthly column, pediatric infectious disease specialists Asif Noor, MD, FAAP, and Ulka Kothari, MD, share valuable insight on antimicrobial stewardship in pediatric outpatient settings and explain why it is important for your practice. Antimicrobial stewardship programs, or ASPs, have become a crucial intervention to spare patients and facilities from the burden of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, which are responsible for one death every 15 minutes, according to updated estimates from the CDC.

In this bimonthly column, pediatric infectious disease specialists Asif Noor, MD, FAAP, and Ulka Kothari, MD, share valuable insight on antimicrobial stewardship in pediatric outpatient settings and explain why it is important for your practice. Antimicrobial stewardship programs, or ASPs, have become a crucial intervention to spare patients and facilities from the burden of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, which are responsible for one death every 15 minutes, according to updated estimates from the CDC.

Antibiotics treat common childhood infections such as streptococcal pharyngitis and otitis media. Additionally, antibiotics treat serious infections such as sepsis. However, 30% of the antibiotics prescribed in an outpatient setting are inappropriate, according to the CDC. This issue not only predisposes children to the risk for detrimental side effects (allergic reactions, Clostridioides difficle infection, etc.), but it is also is responsible for an inimical rise in antibiotic resistance in our communities.