Effect of antibiotics on physical and physiological development of children under 5—A scoping review

Abstract

The scoping review aimed to investigate and compile the effects of antibiotics on children under the age of five’s physiological development. A PubMed, CINAHL, and Medline online database search was conducted, and related studies were included in the databases to carry out a more detailed search of the available literature utilizing keywords like “Antibiotics in children’s”; “Children under 5”; and “Physiological Development, Physical Development,” as well as Boolean operators to generate papers pertinent which were correlating with the objective of the study. It is imperative to demonstrate that a comprehensive, wide-ranging, and exhaustive search was carried out. MeSH words used for the search. MeSH is an is an effective tool for indexing and classifying literature on biology and health. MeSH terms are affixed to articles to enable precise and effective literature searches, guaranteeing that scholars, medical professionals, and other users can locate pertinent data within the extensive PubMed database. MeSH provides researchers with a standardized and structured method of indexing topics in the field of medicine and related disciplines, which aids in the identification and organization of pertinent articles during scoping reviews. PRISMA checklist was followed while doing the data collection and data extraction. The findings revealed that antibiotics hurt the physical and physiological development of children under 5. The study findings show that after exposure to antibiotics children get obese, it also affects the gut microbiota. Antibiotics also have an impact on the language and behaviors of children under 5. It also shows that children are more prone to get different medical disorders. These results highlight how crucial it is to make well-informed decisions about the use of antibiotics in pediatric care. To sum up, giving antibiotics to kids younger than five can have a big impact on how their bodies develop. This study also provides and implements guidelines that consider the possible long-term effects on the development of children under the age of five when prescribing antibiotics. Encourage healthcare professionals, parents, and other caregivers to learn about the proper use of antibiotics for young children as well as the possible risks of overusing or not using antibiotics at all. Promote funding and research for alternative approaches, such as targeted vaccines or probiotics, to treat and prevent infections in young children.