Validity of caregivers’ reports on prior use of antibacterials in children under five years presenting to health facilities in Gulu, northern Uganda

Lanyero, Hindum; Ocan, Moses; Obua, Celestino; Lundborg, Cecilia Stålsby; Katureebe, Agaba; Kalyango, Joan N.; Eriksen, Jaran; Nanzigu, Sarah

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0257328

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

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“…This study found that 34.3% of children under five presenting with fever to a tertiary-level health facility in northern Uganda used anti-malarials, only 48.6% of which conformed to the prevailing national guidelines for the management of malaria. However, evidence from a recent antibiotic study indicating a low validity of caregivers' reports on the prior intake of antibacterials by their children (14.4% reported vs. 63.7% antibacterial detection in blood and urine samples) suggests that the 43.3% rate of anti-malarial use in the current study may be an underestimate [ 32 ]. The rate of pre-hospital exposure to anti-malarials in this study, however, may not be surprising given the endemicity of malaria in Uganda – being the most common cause of morbidity, especially in children under five, and the fact that these medicines are readily available as over-the-counter medication.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anti-malarial drug use, appropriateness and associated factors among children under-five with febrile illnesses presenting to a tertiary health facility: a cross sectional study

Nyeko

Otim

Obiya

et al. 2023

Malar J

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Background Malaria is endemic in 95% of Uganda and constitutes the country’s most significant public health problem—being the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among children under five years of age. The current national malaria treatment policy is to use artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as first-line treatment, and recommends parasitological confirmation of malaria before therapy. Adherence to this policy, however, remains suboptimal, with the self-initiated home-based therapy being common—posing undue exposures to, and pressure on the current artemisinin-based combinations, with the danger of emergence of drug resistance. The study evaluated the anti-malarial use and its appropriateness among febrile children under five presenting to a tertiary health facility in northern Uganda in light of the current malaria treatment policy. Methods This was a cross-sectional study in a tertiary health facility in northern Uganda between March and September 2021. Children aged 6–59 months with fever were selected using systematic random sampling. A pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect clinical data from the caregivers. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression models were applied. P-value < 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results Seventy-two (34.3%) of the 210 children with fever in this study used anti-malarials prior to the hospital visit, 29.2% (21/72) of which were on a self-medication basis, 22.2% (16/72) were empiric prescriptions—all of which inappropriate, and only 48.6% (35/72) were prescribed based on a parasitological diagnosis of malaria. The most commonly used anti-malarials were artemether-lumefantrine 60/72 (88.3%), while a lesser proportion of quinine 7/72 (9.7%), artesunate 3/72 (4.2%) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine 2/72 (2.8%) were used. The factors independently associated with anti-malarial use among the children with febrile illnesses were duration of fever (p = 0.001); level of the nearest facility (p = 0.027), distance from the nearest health facility (p = 0.025), and caregivers’ age (p = 0.038). Conclusions Inappropriate use of anti-malarials for childhood febrile illnesses is prevalent in the study setting, facilitated by the ease of over-the-counter access, empiric prescription and use of leftover anti-malarials. This calls for a need to address communities’ health-seeking behaviour and the health providers’ practice alike.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anti-malarial drug use, appropriateness and associated factors among children under-five with febrile illnesses presenting to a tertiary health facility: a cross sectional study

Nyeko

Otim

Obiya

et al. 2023

Malar J

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Pre-hospital exposures to antibiotics among children presenting with fever in northern Uganda: a facility-based cross-sectional study

et al. 2022

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Background The rise in the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has become a major global public health problem and presents the biggest global health challenge in the twenty-first century. In developing countries, caregivers initiate treatment with antibiotics at home before presentation to a health facility. However, there is a paucity of evolving data towards surveillance of this trend in low-income countries. We investigated antibiotic use among febrile children presenting to a tertiary health facility in northern Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in a tertiary health facility in northern Uganda between March and September 2021. Children aged 6–59 months with fever were selected using systematic random sampling. A pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used the collect clinical data from the caregivers. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression models were applied. P-value < 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results Eighty-three (39.5%) of the 210 children with fever in this study used antibiotics prior to the hospital visit, 55.4% of which were on a self-medication basis, while 44.6% were empiric prescriptions. The most commonly used antibiotics were amoxicillin 33/83 (39.8%), erythromycin 18 (21.7%), metronidazole 14 (16.9%), ciprofloxacin 13 (15.7%) and ampicillin 6 (7.2%). The main sources of the antibiotics included buying from drug shops 30/83 (36.1%), issuance from clinics (33.7%), remnants at home (12.0%), picking from a neighbour (7.2%) and others (10.8%). The factors associated with antibiotic use among the febrile children were residence (p < 0.001); distance from the nearest health facility (p = 0.005); caregivers’ gender (p = 0.043); cough (p = 0.012); diarrhoea (p = 0.007); duration of fever (p = 0.002); perceived convulsion complicating fever (p = 0.026), and caregivers’ perception that fever (p = 0.001), cough (p = 0.003), diarrhoea (p < 0.001) and any infection (p < 0.001) are indications for antibiotics. Conclusions Inappropriate use of antibiotics for childhood febrile illnesses is prevalent in the study setting, facilitated by the ease of access and use of leftover antibiotics. There is a need to address communities’ health-seeking behaviour and the health providers’ practice alike.

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Validity of caregivers’ reports on prior use of antibacterials in children under five years presenting to health facilities in Gulu, northern Uganda

Cited by 2 publications

References 25 publications

Anti-malarial drug use, appropriateness and associated factors among children under-five with febrile illnesses presenting to a tertiary health facility: a cross sectional study

Anti-malarial drug use, appropriateness and associated factors among children under-five with febrile illnesses presenting to a tertiary health facility: a cross sectional study

Pre-hospital exposures to antibiotics among children presenting with fever in northern Uganda: a facility-based cross-sectional study

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