title: Antibiotic use in acute respiratory infections in under-fives in Uganda: findings and implications.
abstract: Self-medication with antibiotics among households is common in Uganda. However, there are limited studies evaluating self-purchasing of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections (ARI) in the under-fives. Consequently, the objective of this study was to evaluate patterns of household self-medication with antibiotics in ARI among under-fives in Kampala.
  
  
  
  Descriptive cross-sectional observational design. Care takers at households were selected from five divisions of Kampala using the WHO 30-cluster method and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire in June - July 2011.
  
  
  
  Out of the 200 households, most ARI cases 107 (53.5%; p = 0.322) were inappropriately managed. The prevalence of antibiotic use in ARI was 43% (p < 0.001). Amoxicillin (31.4%) and cotrimoxazole (30%) were the most self-medicated antibiotics. Antibiotics use was associated with pneumonia symptoms and access to antibiotics.
  
  
  
  Household use of antibiotics in ARIs among under-fives is suboptimal. There is an urgent need for guidelines on awareness to reduce self-medication of ARIs in Uganda.
authors.affiliation: a School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Namibia , Windhoek , Namibia.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kibuule
authors.affiliation: b School of Public Health , Makerere University Kampala-Uganda , Kampala , Uganda.
authors.forename: Harriet Rachel
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kagoya
authors.affiliation: c Department of Pharmacoepidemiology , Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacy , Glasgow , UK.|d Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet , Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Godman
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015995:Prevalence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012651:Self Medication; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Acute respiratory infections (ARI); Uganda; antibiotics; households; self-medication; under-fives