Management and Outcomes of Paediatric Bone and Joint Infections in a Regional Australian Hospital: A 10‐Year Retrospective Study

AIM: To evaluate clinical features, management, and outcomes of paediatric bone and joint infection (BJI) in a regional Australian hospital and assess weight-based oral antibiotic prescribing. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 171 children aged 0-18 years admitted with septic arthritis and/or osteomyelitis between 2011 and 2021. Cases were identified using ICD-10-AM codes, and data on clinical presentation, microbiology and treatment were extracted from medical records. Oral antibiotic doses were assessed against international evidence-based guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 171 children were included (median age 27 months); 59.6% were aged ≤ 5 years, and 13.5% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently identified pathogen overall (53/108, 49.1%), and Kingella kingae in children < 5 years of age (20/57, 35.1%). Severe disease occurred in 29.8%. Oral antibiotic doses were below international guideline recommendations in 43.3% of cases, mostly with amoxicillin-clavulanate and cephalexin. Relapse (4.1%) and long-term sequelae (6.1%) were infrequent. CONCLUSIONS: Paediatric BJI mostly occurred in young and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Oral antibiotic weight-based dosing was often lower than international guideline recommendations for BJI. These findings highlight the need for standardised antibiotic dosing in BJI and further studies to optimise dosing in children.