TITLE:
Antibiotics prescribed to febrile under-five children outpatients in urban public health services in Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Léon G. Blaise Savadogo, Bernard Ilboudo, Maurice Kinda, Nacro Boubacar, Philippe Hennart, Michèle Dramaix, Philippe Donnen
KEYWORDS:
Antibiotics; Children; Febrile; Outpatients; Public Health Services
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.2,
January
26,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Appropriate
use of antibiotics remains critical for success in achieving MDG4. The aim of this
study was to investigate antibiotics prescribing practices to febrile under-five
children outpatients in urban public health services in a low income country. Methods:
From March to April 2013, a cross-sectional epidemiological study of care facilities
visit by under-five age, for febrile illness, was carried out in urban health services
in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Patient demographics, diagnoses and medications
were recorded. We calculated for each diagnoses several indicators for antibiotics
use. Results: Our study showed an over-prescription of antibiotics at the university
teaching hospital (78.08%) and at the first level facilities (57.71%) for under-five
outpatients for febrile illness. There was evidence of high antibiotic prescription
in children with diarrhea (more than 9 on 10 at university teaching hospital of
diarrhea cases and 60% at the first level facilities), in children with Upper respiratory
tract infections (respectively 60% and 85.2% of cases at university teaching hospital
and at the first level facilities) and in children with malaria (respectively 47.5%
and 17.6% of cases at university teaching hospital and at the first level facilities).
Overuse, misuse and inappropriately prescribed antibiotic coexisted in our results: at university teaching hospital 90.9% of diarrhea cases, 60% of URTI cases,47.5% of malaria cases received
antibiotic prescription; at first level heath care facilities 85.2% of URTI, 17.6%
of malaria cases received an prescribed antibiotic and 11.8% of LRTI did not received
a prescribed antibiotic. Developing countries have poor access to newer antibiotics
and irrational antibiotics use remains a global problem. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics
combat, rigorous infectious diseases diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance consequences
education of users and health professional’s prescribers, and improved surveillance
of antimicrobial resistance, must be strengthened.