ArticleBMJ open2021
Non-prescription antibiotic use for cough among Chinese children under 5 years of age: a community-based cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-prescription antibiotic use and its predictors among children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Inventory of Survey Instruments for Monitoring Antimicrobial Use in Primary Care Settings in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Narrative Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Antibiotic use without prescription among children aged under 5 years in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Review
- 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
- Effect of antibiotics on physical and physiological development of children under 5-A scoping review.Journal of education and health promotion · 2024Article
- Healthcare System Distrust and Non-Prescription Antibiotic Use: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Adult Antibiotic Users.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antibiotics Self Medication among Children: A Systematic Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Non-prescribed antibiotic use for children at community levels in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to investigate the non-prescription use of antibiotics for cough among children under 5 years in China.
designA community-based cross-sectional survey.
settingA face-to-face interview based on a standard questionnaire in the community from October to December 2019.
participantsA total of 3102 children under 5 years of age were enrolled with probability proportionate to size sampling method. The children's caregivers provided the responses as their agents. OUTCOME MEASURES: Cough in the past month, non-prescription use of antibiotics after cough.
results1211 of 3102 children were reported to have a cough in the past month. Of these, 40.2% (487/1211) were medicated with antibiotics, and 18.7% (91/487) of these were not prescribed. Cephalosporins were the most frequently used antibiotic (52.8%), and community pharmacies were the main source (53.7%). Children who coughed for 1-2 weeks (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.90) or 3-4 weeks (OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.97), with runny nose (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.19) or those whose family annual income between ¥50 000 and ¥100 000 (OR 4.44, 95% CI 1.52 to 18.95) had a higher risk of non-prescription use of antibiotics than those coughing for <1 week, without runny nose or with family annual income <¥50 000.
conclusionsOur findings indicated that a high proportion of infants and young children had been treated with antibiotics for cough, and nearly one in five of them were used without prescription. More public health campaigns and further education on the appropriate use of antibiotics are needed to ensure the rational treatment of cough in children.
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