[Children in day care centers--infections and use of antibiotics].
BACKGROUND
Bacterial resistance is a major problem in many countries and is associated with liberal use of antibiotics. In this study infections and use of antibiotics were studied in day-care children in Oslo and Akershus counties in Norway.


METHODS
Parents in 22 randomly chosen day-care centers were asked to complete a semi-structured questionnaire about infections and antibiotic treatment of their children over the last 12 months. Out of 1,126 parents, 563 (50%) completed the questionnaire.


RESULTS
97% of the children had suffered infections over the last 12 months (mean seven infections); colds 85%, otitis 36%, throat infections 27%, bronchitis 13%, pneumonia 12%, eye infections 41%, gastroenteritis 63%, and wound infections 9%. Out of 3,900 episodes of infections, 29% were treated with antibiotics; in all, 65% of the children received antibiotics. 80% of parents had consulted physicians with their children: 80% of the consultations resulted in prescriptions of antibiotics. Boys had more infections than girls and used antibiotics more often. Younger children had more infections than older ones, but did not use antibiotics more often. Among children with ear infections 75% got antibiotics, throat infections 85%, bronchitis 82%, and eye infections 58%.


CONCLUSIONS
Children in day-care centers in the Oslo area have a high occurrence of infections, a high rate of medical consultations, and a very high use of antibiotics.
Nordlie
Anne-Lise
AL
Avdeling for helsefag Høgskolen i Oslo Pilestredet 50 0167 Oslo. anne-lise.nordlie@hf.hio.no
Andersen
Bjørg Marit
BM
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents