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Evaluation of Parental Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Antibiotic Use in Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Turkey


 BackgroundUpper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common in children. Most URTIs have been shown to be of viral origin. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is one of the main causes of antibiotic resistance. The problem of unnecessary antibiotic use among children is a concern for antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income developing countries.MethodsOur study is a cross-sectional survey study. It was carried out between 14 December 2020 and 1 April 2021 for parents over 18 years of age with a child under 18 years’ old who applied to the general pediatrics outpatient clinics of Gazi University Faculty of Medicine Hospital Department of Pediatrics.Results554 parents responded to the questionnaire. A total of 15.7% of parents stated to use antibiotics in any child with fever. 37% of parents believed that antibiotics could cure infections caused by viruses. 6.3% of parents declared that they put pressure on pediatricians to prescribe antibiotics. 85.6% of the parents stated that they never gave their children non-prescription antibiotics when they had a high fever. 80.9% of them declared that they never used past antibiotics in the presence of a new infection. Female gender, high level of education, high income level and low number of antibiotics used in the last 1 year were found to be statistically significant with the better knowledge level of the parents (p <0.05).ConclusionAccording to the results of our study of parents' lack of knowledge about antibiotics in Turkey, though generally it shows proper attitude and behavior. It shows that some of the restrictions imposed by the National Action Plan are partially working. However, it is still necessary to continue to inform parents, pediatricians and pharmacists about the use of antibiotics, and to be more sensitive about the prescribing of antibiotics, and if necessary, sanctions should be imposed by the state in order to prevent unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.