Clinical definitions including common presenting symptoms and causative bacteria are provided for each syndrome or infection, as are relevant stewardship principles and other clinical notes; however, these notes are not meant to be exhaustive. Importantly, complete clinical diagnostic guidance is not provided given the guidelines scope of empiric therapy, and medical therapies and treatment outside of antibiotic therapy (e.g. pain management or surgical intervention) are excluded.
Preferred antibiotic choice, dosage, and duration should be followed when possible. Only defer to alternative treatments if preferred antibiotic choice is not available or there are other compelling reasons precluding the use of the preferred antibiotic.
When step down therapy is recommended, the duration is the total treatment duration including intravenous (IV) therapy.
Unless otherwise specified, all antibiotic formulations described throughout the treatment recommendations follow those in the WHO MLEM and WHO MLEM for Children.
For neonatal and pediatric age groups, the following definitions are generally followed unless otherwise specified; for patients 20 years and older, refer to the adult treatment recommendations:
| Neonate | Less than 28 days old or if born prematurely, less than 42 weeks corrected gestational age |
| Infant | Less than 1 year of age |
| Child | Less than 10 years of age |
| Adolescent | 10 – 19 years of age |