Investigation of outpatient use of unprescribed antibiotics in children at the Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prior use of unprescribed antibiotics, and to identify the related factors in children who admitted to the Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Material and Methods: The study was carried out with 400 parents, who had a child without a chronic disease. A questionnaire was applied to determine whether the parents had used an antibiotic for their children in the last year without a prescription. All data were analyzed using the "Statistical Package for the Social Science for Windows" program. p <0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results: It was determined that antibiotics were used by 80.0% (320 cases) of the children at least once during the previous year, and 17.2% (55 cases) of them used it without a doctor's advice or supervision. The main findings leading to the use of antibiotics have been reported as sore throat in 75.6% (242 cases), common cold in 65.6% (210 cases), and fever in 57.2% (183 cases). Unprescribed antibiotics were amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in 14.6% (n=8), cefuroksime axetil in 5.4% (n=3), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in 1.8% (n=1); 43 (78.2%) parents did not remember the names of the used antibiotics. Age of the child was determined as the most important factor affecting the unprescribed use of antibiotics (p=0.010). Conclusion: It has been found that antibiotic use in the previous year was common in children who admitted to the Department of Emergency Medicine and about one fifth of these antibiotics had been used without a prescription. Age of the child was the most important factor affecting the unprescribed use of antibiotics. Considering the increased drug resistance and the burden to the country's economy associated with irrational use of the antibiotics, the families must be informed about the harmful effects of this attitude. © 2013 by Türkiye Klinikleri.