ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Antibiotic Resistance and New Antimicrobial drugs
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1616184
This article is part of the Research TopicAntibiotic Resistance and Bacterial Infections in Immunocompromised HostsView all articles
Real-World Efficacy and Safety of Cefepime for Pediatric Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Propensity Score-Matched Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
- 2First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the real-world clinical efficacy and safety of cefepime in treating pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), comparing it with other broad-spectrum antibiotics, including cefoperazone-sulbactam and meropenem, using a propensity score-matched design.Methods: A retrospective, propensity score-matched cohort study was conducted in pediatric patients (0–18 years) hospitalized with CAP. Patients treated with cefepime were compared to those treated with cefoperazone-sulbactam or meropenem. Clinical outcomes, microbiological clearance, and adverse events were assessed, and propensity score matching was applied to minimize confounding.Results: A total of 788 patients were included, with 720 in the cefepime group and 68 in the comparator group. Both groups showed comparable clinical efficacy, with no significant differences in symptom resolution, laboratory normalization, or radiographic improvement. Microbiological clearance rates were also similar between the groups. The incidence of adverse events was low in both groups, and no statistically significant difference in adverse events was observed between cefepime and the comparator group.Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefepime is a clinically effective and well-tolerated alternative to other broad-spectrum antibiotics for pediatric CAP, demonstrating comparable clinical outcomes and safety profiles. These findings support cefepime as a viable empiric therapy option, particularly in settings with limited microbiological diagnostics. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and optimize dosing strategies for pediatric populations.
Keywords: Cefepime, Pediatric community-acquired pneumonia, Antibiotic efficacy, Propensity score matching, microbiological clearance, adverse drug reactions, Real-world evidence
Received: 22 Apr 2025; Accepted: 29 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Deng, Xing and Song. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jiayu Deng, First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Yanqing Song, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.