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. 2025 Apr 1;44(4):e113-e116.
doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000004614. Epub 2025 Jan 9.

High Rates of "Watch" and "Reserve" Class Antibiotics Used to Treat Infections in Neonates and Infants in Southeast Asia

Michelle L Harrison  1   2 , Benjamin F R Dickson  1   2 , Maria Esterlita T Villanueva-Uy  3   4 , Nina Dwi Putri  5   6 , Riyadi Adrizain  7   8 , Leny Kartina  9   10   11 , Gayana P S Gunaratna  12   13   14 , Nambage Shirani Chandrasiri  13   14 , Hoang T Tran  15   16 , Huong X Nguyen  17 , Siew M Fong  18 , Erena S Kasahara  4 , Chau H M Le  15   16 , Distyayu Soekardja  5 , Dominicus Husada  9 , Ng Boon Hong  18 , Phoebe C M Williams  1   2   19
Affiliations

High Rates of "Watch" and "Reserve" Class Antibiotics Used to Treat Infections in Neonates and Infants in Southeast Asia

Michelle L Harrison et al. Pediatr Infect Dis J. .

Abstract

We evaluated antibiotic prescribing practices for neonates and infants hospitalized with infections in resource-constrained healthcare settings, where antimicrobial resistance is responsible for significant neonatal morbidity and mortality. A point prevalence survey of 667 admitted infants across 10 clinical sites in Southeast Asia revealed a total of 405 antibiotics were prescribed to 218 infants, with high use of World Health Organization-classified "Watch," "Reserve" and "Not Recommended" antibiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

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    1. Dickson BFR, Putri ND, Adrizain R, et al.; the NeoSEAP consortium. High burden of anti-microbial resistance among neonatal blood stream infections in Southeast Asia: results of the NeoSEAP study. MedRxiv Preprint. 2023. doi: 10.1101/2023.09.11.23295383 . - DOI
    1. WHO Methodology for Point Prevalence Survey on Antibiotic Use in Hospitals. Online World Health Organization; 2019. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-EMP-IAU-2018.01 . Accessed October 10, 2020.
    1. Williams PCM, Jones M, Snelling TL, et al. Coverage gaps in empiric antibiotic regimens used to treat serious bacterial infections in neonates and children in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Lancet Reg Health Southeast Asia. 2024;22:100291.

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