Table 3.
Appropriateness of antimicrobial therapy across study sites in Tanzania, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.
| Redundant antimicrobial therapy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Country | |||
| Tanzania (n = 390) |
Kenya (n = 424) |
Sri Lanka (n = 759) |
Overall (n = 1,573) |
|
| Double beta-lactam coverage | 11 (2.8) | 21 (5.0) | 51 (6.7) | 83 (5.3) |
| Double anaerobic coverage | 1 (0.2) | 8 (1.9) | 12 (1.6) | 21 (1.3) |
| LRTIa as the indication for antimicrobial therapy | ||||
| Characteristic | Country | |||
| Tanzania (n = 185) |
Kenya (n = 104) |
Sri Lanka (n = 265) |
Overall (n = 554) |
|
| Patient has radiographic signs of pneumonia within 48 h of starting antibiotics | 116 (62.7) | 65 (62.5) | 35 (13.2) | 216 (39.0) |
| Sputum culture obtained | 0 | 2 (1.9) | 18 (6.8) | 20 (3.6) |
| UTIb as the indication for antimicrobial therapy | ||||
| Characteristic | Country | |||
| Tanzania (n = 16) |
Kenya (n = 23) |
Sri Lanka (n = 112) |
Overall (n = 151) |
|
| Symptoms present before initiation of treatment | 9 (56.2) | 19 (82.6) | 106 (94.6) | 134 (88.7) |
| Fever (not explained by another cause) | 6 (37.5) | 2 (8.7) | 99 (88.4) | 107 (70.9) |
| Suprapubic pain | 2 (12.5) | 2 (8.7) | 69 (61.6) | 73 (48.3) |
| Dysuria | 0 | 4 (17.4) | 58 (51.8) | 62 (41.0) |
| CVAc tenderness | 0 | 4 (17.4) | 2 (1.8) | 6 (3.9) |
| Frequency | 0 | 0 | 40 (35.7) | 40 (26.5) |
| Nausea/vomiting | 3 (18.8) | 0 | 63 (56.2) | 66 (43.7) |
| Urgency | 1 (6.2) | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.7) |
| Urine culture | 5 (31.2) | 3 (13.0) | 56 (50.0) | 64 (42.4) |
a
LRTI is lower respiratory tract infections.
b
UTI is urinary tract infection.
c
CVA is flank or costovertebral angle.