Antibiotic Prescription for Children With Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Assiut District: An Exploratory Study.

Antibiotics are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in pediatric care all over the world. Over prescription of antibiotics is a major public health problem and the most important factor in the emergence of antibiotic resistance.

In Egypt, a recent study conducted in El-Minya governorate to investigate antibiotic use in PHC centres and in governmental hospitals, revealed that physician prescriptions of antibiotics for ARIs were extremely high as 82% of pediatric visits for ARIs resulted in an antibiotic prescription. Most of these infections are caused by viruses and do not require antibiotic treatment.

Numerous interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing practices have been reported from various countries with varying results. No single intervention appears to have superior efficacy, but combinations of interventions are typically more effective, and strategies that target health care professionals and/or patients (or parents of young children) have achieved success at reducing antibiotic prescriptions for ARIs.

Despite the emergence of antibiotic resistance and international efforts to reduce antibiotic use, prescription still high and inappropriate. Children are a vulnerable group and inappropriate antibiotic prescription may affect their health and may contribute to development of many diseases as allergies beside emergence of antibiotic resistance. Also, most of acute respiratory infections in children are viral infections and they receive antibiotic for it. So,, it is important to study physicians' antibiotic prescribing behavior to understand its determinant and for further planning of appropriate interventions to optimize antibiotic prescription.