Abstract

A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON PRESCRIBING PATTERN OF ANTIBIOTICS FOR TREATING PNEUMONIA IN PEDIATRICS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, BANGALORE

Hema Latha B., Lakshmi Bhavani K., Akhil Kumar K.* Rajeshu D., B.A.Vishwanath, Ritty Sara Cherion

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory tractinfection (ARTI) that affects the lungs. When an individual haspneumonia, the alveoli in the lungs are filled with pus and fluid, whichmakes breathing painful and limits oxygen intake. Pneumonia hasmany possible causes, but the most common are bacteria and viruses.Pneumonia kills more children under five than AIDS, malaria, andmeasles combined, yet increased attention in recent years. The mostcommon pathogens are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilusinfluenzae type b (Hib), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). S.pneumoniae is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia inchildren under five years in the developing world. The populations most at risk forpneumonia are children under five years, people aged 65 or over, and people with preexistinghealth problems, the prescriptions needs special emphasis on consideration of thesefactors so drug use evaluation play effective role for rational drug use of antibiotics. Study ondrug use evaluation on a tertiary care hospital was conducted.

Keywords: Pneumonia, Treatment, Children, paediatric, Antibiotic