The choice of antibiotics for the treatment of hospital-acquired infections in children is a rational choice based on the child's general condition, on the site of infection, on the most probable pathogens and on their current sensitivity to antibiotics. The antibiotic chosen must reach bactericidal concentrations at the site of infection for rapid reduction or the inoculum and to limit the systemic spread of infection, thereby decreasing the risk of a rapidly expanding infectious process in the younger children. The optimal antibiotic is selected on the basis of what is known about bacterial resistance. General therapeutic rules must be adjusted to the epidemiological situation prevailing in each hospital department.