Antibiotic use in Moshi Urban: A cross-sectional Study of Knowledge and Practices among Caretakers of Children in Kilimanjaro Tanzania

IntroductionAntibiotics are commonly accessed and used for the management of illness in children without a prescription. We investigated the caretaker’s knowledge and practices on antibiotics and antibiotics use to their children.MethodThis was the hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted from April to July 2017 in three facilities located in Moshi Municipality. A convenience sampling was employed to select for caretakers with their sick children at KCMC, Mawenzi hospital, and Longuo dispensary. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 224 caretakers who had visited health facilities with their children seeking health care.ResultsThe majority (87.9%, 197/224) of all interviewed caretakers had good knowledge of the use of antibiotics. Irrespective of knowing that it is not safe to self-medicate a child with any antibiotics (95.1%, 213/224), most (61.6%, 138/224) caretakers practiced self-medication with the medicines. Having two children (aOR = 7.75, 95% CI: 1.89-31.67) and having three children (aOR=7.23, 95%CI: 1.08-48.51) were significantly associated with good knowledge of antibiotics.ConclusionThis study has revealed that caretakers in Moshi had a good knowledge of antibiotic use. However, despite such good knowledge, malpractices were observed. We call upon the use of media campaigns to advocate for the importance of the rational use of antibiotics and its effect on human health and the risk of antimicrobial resistance development.Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(3):347-356

Understanding the social drivers of antibiotic use during COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Implications for reduction of antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health crisis that is now impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known how COVID-19 risks influence people to consume antibiotics, particularly in contexts like Bangladesh where these pharmaceuticals can be purchased without a prescription. This paper identifies the social drivers of antibiotics use among home-based patients who have tested positive with SARS-CoV-2 or have COVID-19-like symptoms. Using qualitative telephone interviews, the research was conducted in two Bangladesh cities with 40 participants who reported that they had tested positive for coronavirus (n = 20) or had COVID-19-like symptoms (n = 20). Our analysis identified five themes in antibiotic use narratives: antibiotics as ‘big’ medicine; managing anxiety; dealing with social repercussions of COVID-19 infection; lack of access to COVID-19 testing and healthcare services; and informal sources of treatment advice. Antibiotics were seen to solve physical and social aspects of COVID-19 infection, with urgent ramifications for AMR in Bangladesh and more general implications for global efforts to mitigate AMR.

Antibiotic misuse and improper practices in India: Identifying the scope to improve through a narrative review

BACKGROUND: In India, antibiotic resistance is high and by 2050, two million people will be affected. OBJECTIVE: To review antibiotic practices in India and the variables that impact them. METHODS: For this narrative review, research articles on antibiotic awareness, perception and practices were retrieved from PubMed and Google Scholar using search terms such as ‘India AND antibiotic use AND cross sectional AND awareness’. A total of 1730 results were found on 30 June 2020, of which 35 articles were eligible for summarizing the common antibiotic practices. RESULTS: We found that there are deficiencies in the implementation of existing policies in India. Several issues such as overprescribing of antibiotics, use without prescription and non-adherence to treatment regimens are contributing to irrational antibiotic practices in the country. CONCLUSION: There is a need for policies at the institute level to help curb the problem of antibiotic resistance.

The Antibiotic Use in Osteomyelitis Infection: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Osteomyelitis is a serious infection of the bone. One of the therapies for osteomyelitis is antibiotic treatment. Antibiotic treatment has evolved substantially, but bone infections are still a challenge. Antimicrobial therapy is also difficult, caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms. Therefore, a systematic review is needed to assess antibiotic use in osteomyelitis infection. Method: Articles were searched using Pubmed with keywords “antibiotics”, “osteomyelitis”, and its combination. The authors used five years publication date and English language to select the appropriate journal. Result: The author identified 13 relevant articles with antibiotics use in osteomyelitis. All of the cases were about chronic osteomyelitis and osteomyelitis in diabetic foot ulcers. Osteomyelitis in other sites of long bones needs longer duration treatment than long bone osteomyelitis. In acute osteomyelitis in children, antibiotic treatment can switch from IV to oral antibiotics. Furthermore, chronic osteomyelitis needs longer treatment to resolve than acute osteomyelitis. Conclusion: Antibiotics still mainstay treatment with surgery for osteomyelitis treatment. With acute, children, and long bone only need shorter treatment than chronic, adult, and non-long bone osteomyelitis.

Is antibiotics overuse justified when immediate intervention is not possible? A rapid evidence review

Introduction: This review revisits clinical use of antibiotics for most common acute oro-dental conditions; we aim to provide evidence governing antibiotics use when access to oral healthcare is not available, as during the ongoing outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Materials and methods: In this rapid review, articles were retrieved after conducting a search on PubMed and Google Scholar. Relevant publications were selected and analyzed. Most recent systematic reviews with/without meta-analyses and societal guidelines were selected. Data were extracted, grouped, and synthesized according to the respective subtopic analysis. Results and discussion: There was evidence supporting the use of antibiotics in common oro-dental conditions as temporary measure when immediate care is not accessible, such as in case of localized oral swellings as well as to prevent post-extraction complications. No sufficient evidence could be found in support of antibiotic use for pain resulting from pulpal origin. Conclusion: Antibiotic use may be justified to defer treatment temporarily or reduce risk of complications in case of localized infection and tooth extraction, when no access to immediate dental care is possible. Graphical abstract:

Viral Respiratory Infections: New Tools for a Rapid Diagnosis

Respiratory tract infection is one of the most common diseases in human worldwide. Many viruses are implicated in these infections, including emerging viruses, such as the novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Identification of the causative viral pathogens of respiratory tract infections is important to select a correct management of patients, choose an appropriate treatment, and avoid unnecessary antibiotics use. Different diagnostic approaches present variable performance in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and time-to-result, that have to be acknowledged to be able to choose the right diagnostic test at the right time, in the right patient. This review describes currently available rapid diagnostic strategies and syndromic approaches for the detection of viruses commonly responsible for respiratory diseases.