FREQUENCY OF SELF-MEDICATION WITH ANTIBIOTICS AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG CHILDREN AT A PUBLIC HOSPITAL IN METROPOLITAN LIMA

Collazos Pacora E.; Santa Cruz D.D.; Alvarado Tan M.; Rivera Abbiati F. · Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana (2025) · DOI: 10.25176/rfmh.v25i1.7039

Resumen

Introduction: Self-medication with antibiotics in the pediatric population represents a growing public health concern. Objectives: To identify factors associated with antibiotic self-medication in children and to characterize its patterns of use. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at Hospital Santa Rosa (Pueblo Libre, Lima, Peru) between December 2023 and February 2024. The study included 402 parents of pediatric outpatients who lived with their children. A validated 27-item questionnaire, based on international studies and adapted to the local context, was administered. Sociodemographic, medical, and self-medication-related variables were collected. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed using binary logistic regression to identify factors associated with having“ever”self-medicated a child with antibiotics, with a significance threshold of p<0.050. Results: A total of 39.1% of children had been self-medicated with antibiotics at least once. The frequency was higher among those over fifteen years old (60.0%), in families with three or more children (53.9%), and with a household income of ≤275.5 USD (56.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were amoxicillin (59.1%) and azithromycin (16.0%). The most frequent reasons for use were fever, sore throat, and cough. Having an older child (aOR=5.19; 95%CI: 2.02-13.33) and a greater number of children (aOR=2.20; 95%CI: 1.13-4.27) increased the likelihood of self-medication. Higher household income significantly reduced this likelihood (aOR=0.38; 95%CI: 0.17-0.88). Conclusion: Self-medication with antibiotics in children is associated with the child's age, number of children in the household, and family income, highlighting the need for targeted educational interventions.

Instituciones: Universidad de Piura