Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026
Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
Requests for new oral antibiotic prescriptions in children within 2 days: a Norwegian population-based study
E H Bergene1,2, H Nordeng3,4, T B Rø5,6
1Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Insights
Children often refuse antibiotics, leading to prescription changes. Factors like age, formulation, and antibiotic taste influence these changes, impacting treatment choices.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pharmacology
- Antibiotic Stewardship
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Children's non-adherence to oral antibiotics is common.
- This non-adherence prompts parents to seek alternative antibiotic prescriptions.
- Understanding prescription changes is crucial for optimizing pediatric antibiotic therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze prescription changes in children aged 0-12 years receiving oral antibiotics.
- To identify factors associated with antibiotic prescription modifications.
- To explore relationships between changes and child, prescriber, and antibiotic characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Population-based registry study using Norwegian Prescription Database (2004-2016).
- Defined prescription changes as subsequent antibiotic dispensing within 2 days.
- Employed multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equations for analysis.
Main Results:
- 3.0% of initial antibiotic prescriptions led to requests for new ones.
- Young children on solid formulations (10.9%) and poor-tasting antibiotics (8.6%) had higher change rates.
- Child age, poor taste, formulation characteristics, and prescriber demographics influenced changes.
Conclusions:
- Despite low change rates (3%), patterns suggest a preference for preferred antibiotics in young children.
- This preference may stem from avoiding costs associated with non-adherence and prescription changes.
- Findings highlight the need to consider patient and drug factors in pediatric antibiotic prescribing.
Background:
Children commonly refuse to take antibiotics, which may induce parents to request new antibiotic prescriptions with different pharmaceutical characteristics.
Objectives:
To investigate prescription changes for children 0-12 years receiving oral liquid or solid antibiotic formulations and to explore the relationships between prescription changes and characteristics related to the child, prescriber and antibiotic.
Methods:
A population-based registry study based on data from the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD) from 2004 to 2016. Antibiotic prescription changes were defined as the dispensing of subsequent antibiotics with different pharmaceutical characteristics to the same child within 2 days after initial prescriptions. Data were analysed using multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equations.
Results:
Requests for new prescriptions followed 3.0% of 2 691 483 initial antibiotic prescriptions for children. Young children who received solid formulations (10.9%) and certain poor-tasting antibiotics (8.6%) had the highest proportions of new prescriptions. Penicillin V was most commonly changed, while macrolides/lincosamides dominated subsequent prescriptions. In order of magnitude, the characteristics associated with requests for new prescriptions were the children's ages, poor taste and concentration of liquids, size and shape of solids, prescribers born in recent decades, and girl patients. Reimbursed prescriptions and scored solids were associated with fewer requests.
Conclusions:
While only 3% of the antibiotic prescriptions were changed, the preference of broad-spectrum over narrow-spectrum antibiotics for young children in this study mirrors international prescription patterns. Avoiding the costs of children's refusal and consequent changes may thus be a motivation for choosing more preferred antibiotics.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Antibiotic Selection
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
00:30What are Populations and Communities?
01:25What is Population Genetics?
02:04Conservation of Small Populations
00:57Population Growth