Table 1.
Proportion of children prescribed antibiotics in paediatric acute care settings across the UK (years 2011, 2012)
| N patients treated with antibiotic | Proportion of children on antibiotic per cent (95% CI) | N antibiotic prescriptions (total of different prescribed antibiotics) | Parenteral administration n (% of prescriptions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District general hospitals (n=958 patients) | 349 | 36.4 (33.4 to 39.4) | 479 (30) | 291 (60.8) |
| Tertiary referral hospitals (n=2089 patients) | 898 | 43.0 (40.9 to 45.1) | 1379 (40) | 861 (62.4) |
| General paediatric (n=1477) | 554 | 37.5 (35.0 to 40.0) | 791 (37) | 467 (59.0) |
| PICU (n=226) | 145 | 64.2 (57.9 to 70.5) | 228 (27) | 186 (81.6) |
| Paediatric surgery (n=597) | 214 | 35.8 (32.0 to 39.6) | 321 (29) | 223 (69.5) |
| Haematology–oncology–transplant (n=144) | 92 | 63.9 (56.1 to 71.7) | 156 (24) | 77 (49.4) |
| Others (n=603) | 242 | 40.1 (36.2 to 44.0) | 362 (31) | 199 (55.0) |
| Total (n patients=3047) | 1247 | 40.9 (39.2 to 42.6) | 1858 (41) | |
| N patients treated with antibiotic (N=1247) | Proportion among total children on antibiotics per cent (95% CI) | N antibiotic prescriptions (total of different prescribed antibiotics) | Parenteral administration n (% of prescriptions) | |
| No underlying disease | 487 | 39.1 (34.7 to 43.4) | 689 (30) | 483 (70.1) |
| Underlying disease | 760 | 60.9 (57.5 to 64.4) | 1169 (41) | 669 (57.2) |
| Aged <1 year | 347 | 27.8 (23.1 to 32.6) | 500 (29) | 337 (67.4) |
| Aged 1–6 years | 520 | 41.7 (37.5 to 46.0) | 734 (31) | 413 (56.3) |
| Aged 7–11 years | 174 | 14.0 (8.8 to 19.1) | 259 (32) | 159 (61.4) |
| Aged >12 years | 206 | 16.5 (11.4 to 21.5) | 363 (36) | 243 (66.9) |
| N indications for antibiotics (N=1348) | Proportion per cent (95% CI) | N antibiotic prescriptions (total of different prescribed antibiotics) | Parenteral administration n (% of prescriptions) | |
| Surgical infection | 74 | 5.5 (0.3 to 10.7) | 137 (15) | 123 (89.8) |
| Surgical prophylaxis | 92 | 6.8 (1.7 to 11.9) | 123 (17) | 95 (77.2) |
| Medical prophylaxis | 233 | 17.3 (12.4 to 22.16) | 285 (29) | 25 (8.8) |
| Sepsis/CRBSI/CNS/febrile neutropaenia | 246 | 18.2 (13.4 to 23.0) | 385 (22) | 371 (96.4) |
| URTI | 73 | 5.4 (0.2 to 10.6) | 90 (14) | 42 (46.7) |
| LRTI/UTI/SSTI/joint bone/fever/GITI | 569 | 42.2 (38.1 to 46.3) | 764 (35) | 458 (60.0) |
| Other/unknown | 61 | 4.6 (0.0 to 9.7) | 74 (22) | 38 (51.4) |
| Community-acquired infection | 797 | 59.1 (55.7 to 62.5) | 1121 (34) | 774 (69.1) |
| Hospital-acquired infection | 211 | 15.7 (10.8 to 20.6) | 298 (28) | 240 (80.5) |
| Other (prophylaxis or unknown) | 340 | 25.2 (20.6 to 29.8) | 439 (34) | 138 (31.4) |
| Total | 1348 | 1858 (41) |
CRBSI, catheter-related bloodstream infection; CNS, central nervous system; GITI, gastrointestinal tract infection; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection; PICU, paediatric intensive care units; SSTI, skin and soft tissue infection; URTI, upper respiratory tract infection; UTI, urinary tract infection.