When doctors prescribe medicines to children, they should inform the parents of the medicine's potential side effects. The most common side effect of antibiotics is loose stools or diarrhea Ð technically called antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD).
Doctors at Lille University in Lille, France, studied 650 children one to fifteen years old treated with an antibiotic. The parents kept a diary recording the frequency and characteristics of their children's stools during the time they were taking the antibiotic and for a week after the medicines were finished. Diarrhea was defined as three or more soft or liquid stools for two or more consecutive days.
Only 11% of the children developed AAD. It took an average of 5.3 days for the AAD to start although for some children it began as soon as a day and half after starting the antibiotic. For others, it took almost nine days for the loose stools to begin. AAD was more likely to occur in children under two years old. None of the children in the study had to be hospitalized due to complications from AAD. Children develop AAD at half the rate of adults.
The antibiotic most likely to cause AAD was Augmentin. It's a combination of the commonly used antibiotic amoxicillin and clavulanate. It caused AAD in almost a quarter of the children taking it.
The site of the infection didn't affect the chances of developing AAD. Similarly, using more than one antibiotic didn't affect the chances of developing AAD.
The reason AAD occurs isn't really known. The leading theory is that antibiotics upset the normal balance of intestinal bacteria. This allows certain intestinal bacteria to multiply, disrupting the normal digestive process and resulting in diarrhea.
AAD is fairly common is children, particularly young children. If the antibiotic is necessary, then it should be continued. The best treatment is time since once the antibiotic is stopped, the AAD symptoms go away.
Journal of Pediatrics Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 7/03, pp. 22-26.
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