Patterns of antibiotic use among children in an urban Brazilian slum

Antibiotics are utilized excessively in many areas of the world. To better define how often and why these drugs are used, we prospectively studied antibiotic use among a cohort of 105 children less than five years of age in a poor area of the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza. During a 16-week period, 65 children took 137 courses of antibiotics. Physicians recommended 54% of these, mothers or their associates 39%, and pharmacy workers 7%. Mothers and pharmacy workers recommended drugs for shorter courses than physicians, and were more likely to recommend drugs inappropriate for children. Duration of illness was not a risk factor for antibiotic use, but both poor nutritional status and poor socioeconomic status were. Health care seeking behaviour was further studied in 58 diarrhoea episodes. The type of care sought was related to the duration of illness. Overall, antibiotic use was very common and often inappropriate among children in this poor urban area. More controlled use might decrease the use of potentially dangerous drugs and the use of these drugs when no benefit is likely.