Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Action Plan on AMR

Editorial

Frontiers in Pediatrics

Editorial: Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Action Plan on AMR

Zikria Saleem

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Editors

Impact

Original Research

18 March 2024

Managing infectious diarrhea among young children in community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia and the implications for AMR

Faris S. Alnezary

, 7 more and

Brian Godman

Introduction: Diarrhea remains a major global health issue for children under five, contributing substantially to morbidity and mortality. Community pharmacists play a pivotal role in the management of these children; however, their competence in managing childhood diarrhea in Saudi Arabia is under-researched. This is important to ensure optimal patient care.

Method: Simulated patients (SPs) presenting with three pediatric diarrhea scenarios were used to evaluate pharmacists’ practice in terms of their counselling, history taking, over-the-counter (OTC) prescribing, medication instructions, diet/fluid advice, and/or information provision. Pharmacists’ practice was categorized into adequate, less adequate, and poor.

Results: 182 community pharmacists, primarily male and non-Saudi, participated in the study, of which 60% were in chain pharmacies. Only 5% showed adequate practice in currently managing pediatric diarrhea. Of the 182 simulated patient visits, 62% received medication in all three scenarios and 20% were referred to physicians, with 16% of pharmacists failing to provide any form of intervention. The main medications recommended were kaolin (34%), pectin (34%) and metronidazole (11%). While most pharmacists (86%) asked about the patient's identity and age, 15% provided incorrect management information, 16% failed to provide guidance on the prescribed medicines, and 18% dispensed antimicrobials without a valid prescription.

Conclusion: A high level of inadequate management of pediatric diarrhea in Saudi Arabia was observed. This highlights the need for extensive training to improve community pharmacists’ practice in service delivery including providing counselling and advice on the appropriate management of childhood diarrhea. The latter is particularly important to reduce antimicrobial resistance.

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1 citations

Original Research

26 April 2024

Treatment outcome of pneumonia and its associated factors among pediatric patients admitted to Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized University Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia

Gebremariam Adbela

, 4 more and

Fitsum Weldegebreal

2,677 views

1 citations

Original Research

17 July 2024

Pediatric respiratory pathogen dynamics in Southern Sichuan, China: a retrospective analysis of gender, age, and seasonal trends

Qing Li

, 4 more and

Jinbo Liu

1,793 views

1 citations

Original Research

10 January 2025

Identifying targets for antibiotic stewardship interventions in pediatric patients in Punjab, Pakistan: point prevalence surveys using AWaRe guidance

Samia Sheikh

, 6 more and

Brian Godman

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Healthcare worker’s socio-demographic characteristics in Pediatrics and Child Health Department of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2022.

Original Research

19 January 2024

Infection prevention and control practices in the Pediatrics and Child Health Department of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia

Mengistu Yilma

, 4 more and

Workeabeba Abebe

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a set of practices that are designed to minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) spreading among patients, healthcare workers, and visitors. Implementation of IPC is essential for reducing infection incidences, preventing antibiotic use, and minimizing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The aim of the study was to assess IPC practices and associated factors in Pediatrics and Child Health at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital.

Methods: In this study, we used a cross-sectional study design with a simple random sampling method. We determined the sample size using a single population proportion formula with the assumption of a 55% good IPC practice, a 5% accepted margin of error, and a 15% non-response rate and adjusted with the correction formula. The final sample size was 284 healthcare workers. The binary logistic regression model was used for analysis. The World Health Organization (WHO) Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) tool was used to assess IPC core components.

Result: A total of 272 healthcare workers participated in the study, with a response rate of 96%. Of the total participants, 65.8% were female and 75.7% were nurses. The overall composite score showed that the prevalence of good IPC practices among healthcare workers was 50.4% (95% CI: 44.3–56.5). The final model revealed that nursing professionals and healthcare workers who received IPC training had AORs of 2.84 (95% CI: 1.34–6.05) and 2.48 (95% CI: 1.36–4.52), respectively. The final average total IPCAF score for the IPC level was 247.5 out of 800 points.

Conclusion: The prevalence of good IPC practice was suboptimal. The study participants, who were nursing professionals and healthcare workers who received IPC training, showed a statistically significant association with the IPC practice level. The facility-level IPCAF result showed a “Basic” level of practice based on the WHO categorization. These evidences can inform healthcare workers and decision-makers to identify areas for improvement in IPC practice at all levels. Training of healthcare workers and effective implementation of the eight IPC core components should be strengthened to improve suboptimal practices.

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