Antibiotic Prescriptions in Pediatric Patients Hospitalized with Pneumonia at a University Hospital

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading cause of hospitalization in the Brazilian Unified Health System, with a mortality rate of 18% in children under 5 years of age. Therefore, there is a need for an effective treatment, including antibiotic therapy, based on the main causative agents of the infection. However, there is a risk of the development of bacterial resistance, making it necessary to monitor this use in order to reduce the speed of emergence of multidrug-resistant strains. Thus, this study aims to verify the profile of antibiotic use in children and adolescents treated at a brazilian university hospital. The research consists of a cross-sectional retrospective and descriptive study based on data obtained from medical records provided by the institution, after approval by the ethics committee, and organized in Excel spreadsheets, covering the period from September 2017 to December 2020. It was observed that the profile of this group of patients consists of: a female prevalence in 2017 and 2020 (59% and 57% respectively); while in the years 2018 and 2019, males were higher, 52% and 59%. Regarding age, the age group from 3 months to 4 years was predominant (59.64%). Regarding the use of antibiotics by age group, the following data were found: up to 3 months, the most used were ampicillin (44%) and azithromycin (24.25%); from 4 months to 4 years, ampicillin (32.9%), ceftriaxone (31.7%) and azithromycin (25.9%); and over 5 years, ceftriaxone (33.8%), ampicillin (29.95%) and azithromycin (22.22%). Thus, when comparing the profile found with that recommended by the protocol adopted by the hospital, we can conclude, with the data analyzed, that there is a negligence in the prescription of antimicrobials in the treatment of pediatric CAP, which may corroborate the growth of bacterial resistance, longer hospital stay and, as a result, greater expenditure on care and reduced favorable clinical outcome.