Drug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections in children in the Oceania region: review of the epidemiology, antimicrobial availability, treatment, clinical trial and pharmacokinetic data, and key evidence gaps

Abstract

Gram-negative bacterial infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children and neonates globally, compounded by the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Barriers to paediatric antibiotic licencing lead to reduced availability of potentially effective agents for treatment. For children and neonates in the Oceania region, specific challenges remain including a paucity of surveillance data on local rates of antimicrobial resistance, and lack of availability of newer, more costly agents. In this review, we summarise available regional epidemiological data on the WHO priority pathogens: extended spectrum B-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB). Paediatric clinical trial and pharmakinetic data for the antimicrobials recommended for treatment of these pathogens are reviewed, and paediatric knowledge gaps identified to inform future collaborative research.