A population-based study of antibiotic prescriptions for Danish children

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Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the use of systemic and topical antibiotics in relation to age and sex in Danish children. We used the Pharmacoepidemiological Prescription Database to identify the individual prescriptions of antibiotics provided for all 0- to 15-year-old children in North Jutland County, Denmark, during 1997. The population was ∼95 000 children. We identified 44 640 prescriptions for systemic antibiotics. The annual prescription rate was highest in the 1- to 2-year-olds, with 945 prescriptions/1000 children/year. One-half of these children received at least 1 prescription, and 12% received 3 or more prescriptions. Among the 11- to 15-year-old children 17% received one or more prescriptions. Overall 88% of the prescriptions were penicillins and 10% were macrolides. In children younger than 3 years 57% of prescriptions were for broad spectrum penicillins, but in children older than 6 years penicillin V was the most frequently used antibiotic. We identified 12 661 prescriptions for topical antibiotics used in eye infections. The prescription rate peaked in the 1- to 2-year-old children, one-third of whom received at least 1 prescription. Almost two-thirds of the 0- to 2-year-old children in the population were treated with either systemic or topical antibiotics during 1 year. Physicians prescribe mostly penicillins, but the proportion of broad spectrum penicillins for young children was so high, however, that enforcement of national guidelines should be reconsidered.