Warangal study finds 76 percent of paediatric outpatients prescribed antibiotics
A recent study conducted at a private hospital in Warangal has revealed that 76.1 percent of children visiting outpatient departments are prescribed antibiotics. The research, led by specialists from the Care College of Pharmacy under Kakatiya University, has raised significant concerns about the rise of antimicrobial resistance due to improper prescribing practices.
The researchers analyzed 891 paediatric outpatient encounters at the Warangal facility to understand local prescribing patterns. Of the children involved in the study, 65.8 percent were male and 34.2 percent were female.
According to the findings, children were more frequently prescribed antibiotics from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘Watch’ category instead of the recommended ‘Access’ category. The WHO established the AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) classification system in 2017 to encourage the rational use of antibiotics and limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
The study also highlighted an overwhelming preference for expensive branded medicines over affordable alternatives. Only 2.4 percent of the analyzed prescriptions were written using generic drug names, placing a heavy financial burden on the families of patients.
Azithromycin emerged as the most common treatment choice among the observed cases. The data showed an average of about one antibiotic prescribed per prescription.
Satyanarayana SV Padi, head of the department of pharmacy practice at the Care College of Pharmacy, confirmed the high rate of antibiotic use.
"As many as 76.1% of prescriptions contained at least one antibiotic," Padi said. "Azithromycin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic, with an average of about one antibiotic prescribed per prescription."
The study's authors warned that the combination of high antibiotic prescription rates, the frequent use of 'Watch' category drugs, and the low adoption of generic names poses a dual challenge of public health risks and increased healthcare costs for families in the region.
