The Incidence of Exposure to Antibiotics in Children Less Than 6 Years of Age: A Survey in a Portuguese Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Background: The contact with antibiotics at an early age may lead to a number of nefarious consequences. Nevertheless, the amount of literature available on the usage of antibiotics in children is scarce. Taking into account the increasing emergence of resistant bacterial strains, it is imperative to study and make society aware of the excessive exposure of children to antibiotics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of antibiotic therapy in children under the age of six, in the metropolitan area of Oporto.

Antibiotics prescription pattern and determinants of utilization in the national health insurance scheme at a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

“…Studies done in Nigeria con-firmed that the exposure to antibiotics in children under 5 years of age is exceptionally high 35 . Studies from Portugal, Jordan, and Ethiopia also reported very high antibiotics exposure in children under 5 and fewer than 6 years of age [36][37][38] . Furthermore, this study revealed that increasing the number of medicines per encounter also increased the risk of receiving an antibiotic prescription.…”