Pharmacological management of upper respiratory tract infections in children: An assessment of a tertiary institution practice in Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are the most common acute RTIs that occur in children. Therapy addressing symptoms is recommended for URTI management. The use of antibiotics without culture and sensitivity tests is a risk factor for antimicrobial resistance. Materials and Methods: This study was set to assess the pharmacological management of URTIs in children from a tertiary institution practice. This study was conducted in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It was a retrospective review of 275 prescriptions of medicines for URTIs in children, from January to December 2021. A systematic sampling technique was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 28.0. Results: Of the 275 sampled URTI cases, 157 (57.1%) occurred in male children. No laboratory test was conducted for 265 (96.4%) cases. The majority (207; 75.3%) were diagnosed as non-specific URTI. Other diagnoses include tonsillitis (46; 16.7%), otitis media (8; 2.9%), and rhinitis (6; 2.2%) among others. Antibiotics were the most prescribed medications, (212; 77.1%) followed by antihistamines, (110; 40.0%), vitamins (75; 27.3%), and antimalarials (55; 20.0%). The most prescribed antibiotic was amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (79; 28.7%). There was no statistically significant association between the age category of children and the number of medicines prescribed, whether antibiotics were prescribed, and the number of antibiotics prescribed (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Antibiotics were the mainstay for the management of URTIs in the study center. This mode of therapy could lead to antimicrobial resistance since culture and sensitivity tests were not done before the initiation of antibiotic therapy.