scholarly journals A cross sectional study on prescription pattern of drugs in upper respiratory tract infections in a tertiary care hospital

Author(s):  
Divya Bade ◽  
Shivashankaramurthy K. G. ◽  
Kiran L. J. ◽  
Raghuprasada M. S. ◽  
Harishkumar V. S. ◽  
...  

Background: Upper respiratory tract infections are one of the leading causes of hospital visits worldwide. Judicious use of antibiotics is challenging for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in developing countries like India. This leads to inappropriate use of antibiotics causing many dreaded conditions like antibacterial resistance among other things. Hence rational use of drugs, mainly antibacterial, is a priority to reduce the burden of treatment failure. The objective of this study is to study the prescribing patterns and rationality of drugs prescribed in the management of URTIs.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Data was collected from records of 300 outpatients clinically diagnosed as URTIs from SSIMS and RC Hospital, Davangere between January 2015 and June 2016. The prescribing patterns, approval status and listing of drugs in World Health Organization (WHO) essential medicines list/ National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) were analysed. The data was presented as percentages, mean and standard deviations.Results: A total of 300 cases were studied. Among these, acute pharyngitis (29%) and acute sinusitis (26%) are the most common infections. Of the 300 cases studied, 283 (94.3%) were prescribed antimicrobials. Of the total 740 medications prescribed, 393 (53.1%) were fixed-dose combinations (FDCs). A total of 724 medications (97.8%) were approved by Drugs Controller General of India and 248 (33.5%) by Food and Drug Administration. Only 5.8% of the prescribed drugs have been listed in WHO’s and NLEM. The most common class of antibacterials prescribed was Beta-lactams.Conclusions: Oral formulations were preferred over parenteral formulations and FDCs were preferred over single drug formulations. Beta-lactams comprised the major class of antibacterial prescribed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aslınur Albayrak ◽  
Nazmi Mutlu Karakaş ◽  
Bensu Karahalil

Abstract Background Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common in children. Antibiotics still continue to be prescribed although most URTIs are of viral origin. This is inappropriate use and this unnecessary administration contributes or may cause antibiotic resistance. The problem of unnecessary antibiotic use among children is a concern for antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income developing countries. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of parents of children with upper respiratory tract infections regarding antibiotic use and their antibiotic administration practices in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey. Methods Our study is a cross-sectional survey study. It was carried out between 14 December 2020 and 1 April 2021 for parents over 18 years of age with a child under 18 years’ old who applied to the general pediatrics outpatient clinics of Gazi University Faculty of Medicine Hospital Department of Pediatrics. Results Five hundred fifty-four parents responded to the questionnaire (93.2% rate of response). A total of 15.7% of parents stated to use antibiotics in any child with fever. 37% of parents believed that antibiotics could cure infections caused by viruses. 6.3% of parents declared that they put pressure on pediatricians to prescribe antibiotics. While 28% of the parents who thought that the use of inappropriate antibiotics would not change the effect and resistance of the treatment, 41% thought that new antibiotics could be developed continuously. 85.6% of the parents stated that they never gave their children non-prescription antibiotics when they had a high fever. 80.9% of them declared that they never used past antibiotics in the presence of a new infection. Conclusion According to the results of our study of parents’ lack of knowledge about antibiotics in Turkey, though generally it shows proper attitude and practices. It shows that some of the restrictions imposed by the National Action Plan are partially working. However, it is still necessary to continue to inform parents, pediatricians and pharmacists about the use of antibiotics, and to be more sensitive about the prescribing of antibiotics, and if necessary, sanctions should be imposed by the state in order to prevent unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghada El Khoury ◽  
Elsy Ramia ◽  
Pascale Salameh

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global health threat. Misuse and abuse of antibiotics are of particular concern in the pediatric population. Since management of childhood illnesses depends considerably on parents’ perceptions, the objectives of this study were to report parents’ perspectives and assess their practices toward antibiotics used for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children. Using a cross-sectional design, anonymous structured questionnaires were completed by 1,037 parents in public and private schools across Lebanon’s largest governorate. Descriptive statistics were used to report participants’ responses. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors affecting knowledge and malpractice related to antibiotic use. Significant misconceptions and malpractices were identified among parents. For instance, 33.9% of parents considered that antibiotics are helpful in treating common cold among children and 36.2% believed antibiotics expedite the recovery of their child with common cold infection. Moreover, there was a lack of knowledge concerning antibiotic coverage, since 37.9% of the respondents believed that antibiotics treat viral infections and 21.5% were neutral toward this question. Around 20% of the participants believed they can reduce the dose of antibiotics if the child gets better. Significant factors associated with poor knowledge and misuses were parents’ lower educational and socioeconomic levels. Despite extensive evidence on the limited role of antibiotics in URTIs, parents in Lebanon continue to misuse them. More concerted efforts are needed to improve parents’ knowledge and practices with regard to the rational use of antibiotics.


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