ArticleAfrican health sciences2020
Unnecessary antimicrobial prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections in children in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Article in African health sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antibiotic prescribing appropriateness for urinary tract infections in a tertiary emergency department: a retrospective cohort study.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Article
- The Applicability of AWaRe-Based Antibiotic Quality Indicators to Assess the Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Healthcare in South Africa: A Multicentre Point Prevalence Study and Implications for the Future.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Development of AWaRe-Based Quality Indicators to Assess the Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Healthcare in South Africa.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Psychometric Validation of the Community Antimicrobial Use Scale (CAMUS) in Primary Healthcare and the Implications for Future Use.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The microbiome in mind: Reflections on antibiotic prescription in primary care.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2025Article
- Antibiotic prescribing for outpatients with respiratory tract infections in public and private clinics of a resource-constrained setting, northern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Status and implications of the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards AWaRe antibiotic use, resistance and stewardship among low- and middle-income countries.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Review
- Level of self-confidence among nurse practitioners in rural public health facilities regarding antimicrobial stewardship programs.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025Article
- Antibiotics for Pediatric Patients With Laryngotracheobronchitis in Korea: A Nationwide Study Based on Administrative Data.Journal of Korean medical science · 2024Article
- Reported antibiotic use among patients in the multicenter ANDEMIA infectious diseases surveillance study in sub-saharan Africa.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- Knowledge and Perceptions of Final-Year Nursing Students Regarding Antimicrobials, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Antimicrobial Stewardship in South Africa: Findings and Implications to Reduce Resistance.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- A Narrative Review of Antibiotic Prescribing Practices in Primary Care Settings in South Africa and Potential Ways Forward to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Overuse of medications in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2023Article
- Determinants of the Empiric Use of Antibiotics by General Practitioners in South Africa: Observational, Analytic, Cross-Sectional Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Exploring the economic impact of inappropriate antibiotic use: the case of upper respiratory tract infections in Ghana.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2022Article
- Diagnostic Value of the Triple Combination of Serum Heparin-Binding Protein, Procalcitonin, and C-Reactive Protein in Children with Acute Bacterial Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.Journal of healthcare engineering · 2022Article
- Antibacterial prescription and the associated factors among outpatients diagnosed with respiratory tract infections in Mbarara Municipality, Uganda.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2021Article
- Twenty years ofAfrican health sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAcute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are contagious diseases of the upper airways, but they are self-limiting in nature. Therefore, antimicrobial-use for the majority of the URTIs is considered inappropriate. Unfortunately, globally, antimicrobials are still being prescribed for the treatment of URTIs, especially in children. However, there is insufficient evidence on the causes of this phenomenon in South Africa.
objectiveTo investigate whether the parents/guardians accompanying children with URTIs expected/influenced physicians and/or nurses to prescribe antibiotics.
methodsThis was a prospective descriptive and explorative questionnaire-based study. Participants were guardians who accompanied children aged five years and below, diagnosed with acute URTIs.
findingsThree hundred and six parents/guardians participated in this study. Seventy six percent (n=233) of participants received antibiotics for URTIs for their children, and 67% (n=156) of these did not make requests for antimicrobial therapy. On overall, there was a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) chance (with OR of 5.9; 95% CI, 2.4 - 14.2) for receiving antibiotics for URTIs without a request.
conclusionPhysicians and other healthcare providers need education on rational prescribing of antimicrobials, and to implement evidence-based standard treatment guidelines, to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics in children with self-limiting URTIs.
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