Preferences of antibiotic use in children less than five in physicians working health centers of primary level in Peru-urban areas of Lima, Peru
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2013.302.189Keywords:
Anti-bacterial agents, Drug resistance, bacterial, Drug prescriptions, ChildAbstract
Objectives. To describe physicians’ preferences of antibiotic use in children less than 5 years in health centers of primary level in three periurban districts in Lima, Perú. Material and methods. A structured survey was applied to 218 general practitioners from three health networks of Lima. The survey included six typical clinical cases in children under 5 years with questions about antibiotic use: the cases were common cold, pharyngitis, pneumonia, bronchial obstructive syndrome, watery diarrhea and dysentery. Results. 81.6% of the physicians responded that more than a quarter of the patients they attended were children under five years. 15.6% of the general physicians would use an antibiotic for common cold treatment. For dysentery treatment 90.4% would use antibiotics, the frequently used were Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and Furazolidone. 86.2% of physicians would recommend an antibiotic for pharyngitis. In a watery diarrhea case 32.7% of the doctors would use. In the case of bronchospasm, 73% of the doctors would recommend an antibiotic. 96.3% would recommend antibiotics for pneumonia. The perception of the degree of mother’s satisfaction increased the risk of inappropriate prescription of antibiotics OR: 1.6, p=0.031, 95% CI: 1.1-2.6). Conclusions. There is tendency to overuse antibiotics for diagnoses such as pharyngitis and bronchospasm, as well as in cases of watery diarrhea and common cold, the reason could be that a large number of children under five years are treated by general practitioners without training in pediatric care.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Downloads
Published
2014-02-10
Issue
Section
Research Articles
How to Cite
1.
Ecker L, Ochoa TJ, Vargas M, Del Valle LJ, Ruiz J. Preferences of antibiotic use in children less than five in physicians working health centers of primary level in Peru-urban areas of Lima, Peru. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica [Internet]. 2014 Feb. 10 [cited 2024 Dec. 12];30(2). Available from: https://rpmesp.ins.gob.pe/index.php/rpmesp/article/view/189