BonE and joint infections – Simplifying Treatment in children trial (BEST trial)

Bone and joint infections in children affect between 3 and 32 per 100,000 children in developed countries and up to 150 per 100,000 in resource-poor countries. Young children under five years of age and Indigenous children are disproportionately affected. Of those affected, between 5 and 22 per cent suffer long-term complications such as pain, arthritis, deformity and delayed growth.

Dr Alison Boast and Associate Professor Amanda Gwee are leading a trial of entirely oral antibiotic treatment for bone and joint infections in children which aims to provide the evidence for a paradigm shift away from the current therapeutic approach where all receive intravenous antibiotics. The trial aims to recruit over 214 children from across Australia and New Zealand, with support from site investigators, many of whom are ASID members.