Use of antibiotics in the paediatric population

This paper highlights a number of general concepts on the peculiarities and distinguishing characteristics of antibiotic use in children, and the following currently available antibiotic groups are reviewed in detail: beta-lactams, macrolides, azalides, lincosamides and ketolides, aminoglycosides, quinolones, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, glycopeptides, streptogramins and others with a single representative, giving a series of recommendations on their use in paediatrics. From the knowledge of the causative agents of major infections in children, a recommendation is proposed for initial empirical antibiotic therapy to treat major paediatric infectious diseases, according to the premises and contents expressed in this paper.