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Antibiotic treatment has been suggested to improve growth in animals and humans. Investigators conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 randomized, controlled trials in low- and middle-income countries in which children (age range, 1 month-12 years) received antibiotics or placebo.
The studies included 4316 children. Type of antibiotic, length of treatment, length of follow-up, and participant age varied among the 10 studies. In pooled analysis, antibiotic use increased weight by 23.8 g/month (95% confidence interval, 4.3-43.3) and height by 0.04 cm/month (95% confidence interval, 0.00-0.07). The effect of antibiotics on weight was greatest in studies conducted in Africa and the effect on height was greatest in younger children.…