NICE update on antibiotics for newborns will let families go home sooner

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By Emma Wilkinson

Some newborn babies who need precautionary antibiotics could be switched to oral treatment at home with full clinical support, updated NICE guidance has recommended.

Babies born after 35 weeks who need intravenous antibiotics could be moved to oral at-home treatment if they are otherwise well - potentially reducing their hospital stay by up to 2.7 days, the guidelines now state.

The change would apply to neonates who are receiving antibiotics due to their risk of infection, but who have tested negative, are stable, feeding well, and responding as expected to treatment, NICE said.

It follows pilots of the approach across nine hospitals in England which found babies who completed their antibiotic course at home do just as well as those who remain in hospital.  

The NOAH project in Devon tested moving from IV antibiotics to oral treatment at home in newborn babies with suspected early-onset infection for who there were no concerns.