Children with acute onset BJIs who present to the participating sites will be enrolled into the trial if eligible (see eligibility criteria) and randomly allocated into two groups. Children in the 'standard treatment group' will receive standard treatment for BJIs, which consists of IV antibiotics for 1-7 days followed by 3 weeks of oral antibiotics. Children in the 'entirely oral treatment group' will receive high dose oral antibiotics, followed by the standard dose of oral antibiotics for 3 weeks. The outcomes of children in each of the two groups will be compared to determine whether BJIs can be treated without needing a course of IV antibiotics.
This is a multi- centre trial of children with bone and joint infections (BJIs) at eight major paediatric hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. The primary objective is to establish if in children with acute, uncomplicated BJIs, entirely oral antibiotic treatment is not inferior to initial intravenous (IV) treatment for 1 to 7 days followed by an oral antibiotic course in achieving full recovery 3 months after presentation. Children will be randomly allocated to the 'entirely oral antibiotic' group or the 'standard treatment' group.