Overview

This guideline, developed by a panel of international experts and informed by a thorough review of existing evidence, contains a number of recommendations on the use of antibiotics for neonates (0–28 days old) and young infants (0–59 days old) with PSBI in order to reduce young infant mortality rates.

The guideline is intended for use in resource-limited settings in situations when families do not accept or cannot access referral care. The goal of the guideline is to provide clinical guidance on the simplest antibiotic regimens that are both safe and effective for outpatient treatment of clinical severe infections and fast breathing (pneumonia) in children 0–59 days old. In addition, the guideline seeks to provide programmatic guidance on the role of CHWs and home visits in identifying signs of serious infections in neonates and young infants.

Contents

• Abbreviations and acronyms
• Definitions of key terms
• Acknowledgements
• Executive summary
• Scope and purpose of the guideline
• Background
  • Objective of guideline
  • Target audience
  • Population of interest
  • Priority questions
  • Outcomes evaluated
• Methodology
  • Evidence retrieval, assessment and synthesis
  • WHO Steering Committee
  • Guideline Development Group
  • Peer Review Group
  • Management of conflicts of interest
  • Grading the quality of evidence
  • Decision-making process
• Evidence and recommendations
  • Review Question 1 Identification of danger signs by community health worker at home visits
  • Review Question 2 Fast breathing as a single sign of illness
  • Review Question 3 Clinical severe infection
  • Review Question 4 Critical illness
• Dissemination, implementation and monitoring of guideline
  • Dissemination
  • Adaptation and implementation
  • Monitoring and evaluation of guideline implementation
  • Implications for future research
  • Plans for updating the guideline
• References
• Annexes
  • ANNEX 1 Declaration of interests
  • ANNEX 2 GRADE summary of findings tables

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