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Prescribed antibiotic use in Australian children aged 0-12 years
Svetla Gadzhanova1, Elizabeth Roughead
1PhD, is Research Fellow, Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, The University of South Australia.
Insights
Nearly half of Australian children aged 0-12 years were prescribed systemic antibiotics in 2013. This high antibiotic use in pediatric populations highlights the need for education on appropriate antibiotic stewardship.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pharmacology
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Antibiotic prescribing is common in children, but usage patterns are not well understood.
- Limited data exists on the national scope of pediatric antibiotic utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate current medicine use in Australian children.
- To specifically analyze antibiotic prescribing trends in pediatric populations using national data.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study design was employed.
- Utilized a 10% random sample of Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data from 2013.
- Included children aged 0-12 years who received at least one medicine dispensing.
Main Results:
- In 2013, 49% of 0-4 year olds, 44% of 5-9 year olds, and 33% of 10-12 year olds received systemic antibiotics.
- Over half (53%) of children had single antibiotic dispensings.
- The majority (71%) of children had no comorbid conditions, and antibiotics were often dispensed alone.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals a high prevalence of antibiotic use among Australian children.
- Findings underscore the critical need for educating children and parents on appropriate antibiotic indications and stewardship.
Background:
Children are commonly prescribed antibiotics; however, little is known about the extent of their use.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to examine the current use of medicines in Australian children by using a large national dataset, with a special focus on antibiotics.
Methods:
The method for this study included a longitudinal study using the 10% random sample from the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data. Children aged 0-12 years who were dispensed medicine(s) in 2013 were included, and prescribing patterns were reported.
Results:
Population rates for children with at least one systemic antibiotic in 2013 were found to be 49% for those aged 0-4 years, 44% for those aged 5-9 years, and 33% for those aged 10-12 years. More than half (53%) of the children received single antibiotic dispensing, and the majority (71%) had no comorbid condition. Most of the time, antibiotics were dispensed without any other medicines.
Discussion:
The high level of antibiotic use in children imposes the need to educate children and parents of the appropriate place of antibiotics in healthcare.
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