Department of General Medicine, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Centre for Community and Child Health, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
J Antimicrob Chemother. 2020 May 1;75(5):1347-1351. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkz448.
Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally, largely due to high rates of antibiotic use and misuse. Factors that influence frequent antibiotic use in children are poorly understood.
This study describes rates of antibiotic use in Australian children and investigates parental factors including knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that influence antibiotic use.
An online questionnaire relating to antibiotic use was administered as part of the Royal Children's Hospital National Child Health Poll to a randomly recruited nationwide sample of parents or guardians of children aged 0-17 years in Australia. Data on antibiotic use in children and parental knowledge of appropriate indications for antibiotics and behaviours were collected. Standard binary logistic regression was used to assess associations between parent demographics and behaviour with antibiotic administration.
The survey was completed by 2157 parents (64% completion rate), of which 1131 (52%) reported having given oral antibiotics to one or more of their children in the preceding 12 months. Of the 3971 children represented overall, 1719 (43%) had received at least one course of antibiotics. The average number of courses per child was 0.86 overall and 1.96 courses per child among those with reported antibiotic use. Notably, 194/1131 (17%) parents reported giving antibiotics to their child without a prescription. Poor parental knowledge of antibiotic indications was associated with antibiotic use.
Reducing excessive use of antibiotics in children is necessary in the global strategy for preventing antimicrobial resistance. This study identified areas for public health interventions to educate parents and increase regulation of access to antibiotics.
由于抗生素的使用和滥用率很高，全球范围内的抗菌药物耐药性正在不断增加。影响儿童频繁使用抗生素的因素尚未得到充分了解。
本研究描述了澳大利亚儿童使用抗生素的情况，并调查了影响抗生素使用的父母因素，包括知识、态度和行为。
作为澳大利亚皇家儿童医院全国儿童健康调查的一部分，通过在线问卷对澳大利亚 0-17 岁儿童的父母或监护人进行了随机招募的全国性抽样调查。收集了儿童使用抗生素的数据以及父母对抗生素合理使用指征的了解情况和行为。采用标准二项逻辑回归分析评估父母特征和行为与抗生素给药之间的关联。
共有 2157 名家长（完成率为 64%）完成了调查，其中 1131 名（52%）报告在过去 12 个月内给一个或多个孩子服用了口服抗生素。在调查的 3971 名儿童中，1719 名（43%）至少接受过一次抗生素治疗。所有儿童的平均用药疗程为 0.86 个疗程，而报告使用抗生素的儿童的平均用药疗程为 1.96 个疗程。值得注意的是，194/1131（17%）名家长在没有处方的情况下给孩子服用了抗生素。父母对抗生素适应证的了解不足与抗生素的使用有关。
在预防抗菌药物耐药性的全球战略中，减少儿童抗生素的过度使用是必要的。本研究确定了需要开展公共卫生干预措施的领域，以教育家长并加强对抗生素的获取管理。
