Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns in Paediatric Patients at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia

The use of antimicrobial agents has become a routine practice for the treatment of paediatric illnesses. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics has caused a rise in antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to assess the antibiotic prescribing patterns in paediatric patients at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted between April 2019 to July 2019. The study population included both in-patients and out-patients aged between one month and eighteen years whose medical files were reviewed. A sample size of 357 medical files was conveniently sampled. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0 was used for data analysis. A chi-square test was used to assess the association between categorical variables. A p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant at 95% confidence level. The majority of the medical files 230 (64.4%) were for paediatrics in the age group of 1 month to 5 years. Antibiotic prescribing was found to be 78.7%. The study revealed that 119 (33.3%) of patients required antibiotics and were on antibiotic treatment while 46 (12.9%) did not require antibiotics but were on antibiotic treatment. The most common diseases 147 (41.2%) were those affecting the respiratory system. The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were penicillins 154 (54.8%), followed by cephalosporins 88 (31.3%). The association between age, white blood cell count status, and system of illness with antibiotic use were statistically significant (χ2=15.083, p=0.001; χ2= 6.571, p=0.037 and χ2=27.717, p