Doctors’ prescribing of antibiotics to children, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics, has shrunk significantly over 10 years based on PBS data, Australian researchers say.

Their study of PBS data from 2013 to 2023 found that the annual antibiotic prescribing rate for children aged 0-12 fell from 103 to 63 per 100 children, while the proportion of children prescribed at least one PBS antibiotic each year fell from 45.7% to 33.6%.

“This decline is likely due to several key factors, such as the implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs, increased awareness of antimicrobial resistance and compliance with clinical and paediatric guidelines, all of which reduce unnecessary antibiotic use,” the researchers, from the University of WA, wrote in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology last week.

The group of antibiotics that underwent the biggest average annual reduction (14.3%) contained macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramins, followed by the group containing sulfonamides and trimethoprim (12%).