OBJECTIVE A clinical comprehensive evaluation of cefepime for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia(CAP) in children was conducted.

METHODS A clinical comprehensive evaluation index system was initially established using the expert consultation method and the literature research method in terms of 6 dimensions, namely, safety, efficacy, economy, appropriateness, accessibility, and innovativeness, and the Delphi method combined with hierarchical analysis was used for the screening of the evaluation dimensions and the determination of the weights. The real-world research method, literature research method, questionnaire survey method, drug inserts, expert guidelines/consensus, etc. were used to construct the evidence aggregates of each dimension, and the researchers scored cefepime according to the evidence aggregates of the clinical comprehensive evaluation of each dimension, and calculated the total score of the clinical comprehensive evaluation based on the weights.

RESULTS The clinical comprehensive evaluation index system of cefepime for the treatment of CAP in children constructed in this study included 6 primary indicators, 16 secondary indicators, and 35 tertiary indicators, among which the weights of safety(33.80%), efficacy(24.80%), and appropriateness(18.40%) were in the top 3, the innovativeness(11.49%) and accessibility(3.77%) had relatively low weightings. Finally, the total score of the comprehensive evaluation of cefepime was 83.06 points.

CONCLUSION Based on data from a single-centre real-world study in Jilin province, cefepime(1.0 g, Qilu Anti) performed well in terms of safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness for the treatment of CAP in children(composite score of 83.06) and was highly accessible in the context of this study. However, the innovativeness dimension(11.49%) suggests that it lacks optimised design such as child-specific dosage forms. The results may provide a reference basis for regional decision-making on paediatric CAP medication use.