Antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory infections among children in rural China:
Abstract
Overuse of antibiotics contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance. This study aims to assess the condition of antibiotic use at health facilities at county, township and village levels in rural Guangxi, China. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in 2014 for children aged 2-14 years with upper respiratory infections (URI). 20 health facilities were randomly selected, including 4 county hospitals, 8 township hospitals and 8 village clinics. Prescriptions were extracted from the electronic records in the county hospitals and paper copies in the township hospitals and village clinics. This research is supported by the Department for International Development’s COMDIS–HSD Programme which is led by the University of Leeds