[Relationship between use of antibiotics and chronic diarrhoea in infants and young children].
OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between use of antibiotics and chronic diarrhea in infants and young children.


METHODS
A matched case-control study was carried out in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province during April to October 1997, with a total of 32 cases, (aged 1 - 19 months), with chronic diarrhea (with a length > 2 months), and 128 cases of acute diarrhea (as control group I) and 94 cases of acute respiratory tract infection (as control group II), from the Department of Pediatrics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University during January 1987 to December 1996.


RESULTS
Unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis showed that unreasonable use of antibiotics in treatment for acute diarrhea was the major risk factor for chronic diarrhea (OR = 5.61, 95% CI of OR = 1.15 - 27.36 with control group I, and OR = 16.92, 95% CI of OR = 2.67 - 107.32 with control group II). Chi-square test for trend showed that odds ratio of the use of antibiotics in the cases to the controls increased with the number of antibiotics used in treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Unreasonable use of antibiotics in treatment for acute diarrhea was an important factor contributing to chronic diarrhea in infants and young children. Early pathogenic diagnosis for diarrhea and reasonable use of antibiotics played important roles in prevention form chronicity of diarrheal diseases.
Xu
N
N
Department of Epidemiology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350004.
Wu
B
B
Chen
S
S
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D012307:Risk Factors
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents