AUTHOR=Ślęzak Katarzyna , Dembiński Łukasz , Konefał Artur , Dąbrowski Mikołaj , Mazur Artur , Peregud-Pogorzelska Małgorzata , Wawrykow Paweł , Konefał Dorota , Peregud-Pogorzelski Jarosław TITLE=Impact of Selected Behavioral and Environmental Factors on the Antibiotic Therapy in Polish Children With Upper Respiratory Tract Infections JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.784265 DOI=10.3389/fped.2021.784265 ISSN=2296-2360 ABSTRACT=

Antibiotic therapy must be carried out consistently and according to the guidelines. Viruses are the dominant cause of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children, as has been shown in many previous studies. Unnecessary antibiotic therapy should be avoided so that it does not affect patients' health and lead to the development of resistant bacterial strains. Here we report a national survey conducted in a group of 4,389 children to assess the impact of selected behavioral and environmental factors on antibiotic therapy in patients with URTIs. We found that selected environmental factors influenced the type of treatment. The place of residence, having siblings, an absence of vaccinations, the presence of allergies, and attendance at educational institutions were conducive to antibiotic therapy. These factors also influenced the frequency of hospitalization of children and their absence from nurseries, kindergartens, and schools, as well as the absence of their guardians from work.