Children who get Rocky Mountain spotted fever — a potentially fatal tickborne illness caused by a certain bacteria — are five times more likely to die from it than adults. This is because physicians have been reluctant to prescribe the most effective RMSF treatment due to a warning on its label, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The medication, doxcycline, has a warning label saying tooth staining may be a side effect of the drug in children under 8.
A study, led by the CDC and Indian Health Service and published in The Journal of Pediatrics, examined medical records for more than 250 children on an Indian Reservation with high rates of RMSF. Dentists looked at the teeth of children who had been treated with doxcycline before turning 8 years old and those who did not. They found no difference in teeth color, staining or enamel.
"Many doctors readily use doxcycline to treat suspected RMSF in adults but won't use the drug in children because they're worried about tooth staining and hesitate to prescribe it for only a suspected case," said Jennifer McQuiston, MD, a CDC epidemiologist. "Our study shows definitively that this shouldn't be a reason to avoid this life-saving drug. Changing the drug's label may encourage physicians to use doxcycline earlier to treat suspected RMSF in children, which will help save lives."
The CDC recommends that physicians start children on doxcycline as soon as they suspect RMSF, because delaying treatment can increase the risk of hospitalization and death.
Doxcycline is also effective in killing bacteria that commonly cause community-acquired pneumonia, according to the CDC.