BACKGROUND: Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of under-5 morbidity and mortality worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To determine the use and/or misuse of antibiotics on children with diarrheal disease by caregivers. METHOD: An observational prospective study involving 210 children and their caregivers seen at the pediatric outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital between January and May 2012 was undertaken. RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 18.07 ± 14.29 months. One hundred twenty-four (59%) were male, whereas 86 (41%) were female. Almost half of the children (46.7%) used unprescribed antibiotics during an episode of diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics are being abused in children with diarrhea and caregivers need to be educated against this urgently.
BACKGROUND:Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of under-5 morbidity and mortality worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To determine the use and/or misuse of antibiotics on children with diarrheal disease by caregivers. METHOD: An observational prospective study involving 210 children and their caregivers seen at the pediatric outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital between January and May 2012 was undertaken. RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 18.07 ± 14.29 months. One hundred twenty-four (59%) were male, whereas 86 (41%) were female. Almost half of the children (46.7%) used unprescribed antibiotics during an episode of diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics are being abused in children with diarrhea and caregivers need to be educated against this urgently.
Authors: Reeti Khare; Mark J Espy; Elizabeth Cebelinski; David Boxrud; Lynne M Sloan; Scott A Cunningham; Bobbi S Pritt; Robin Patel; Matthew J Binnicker Journal: J Clin Microbiol Date: 2014-08-06 Impact factor: 5.948