Prevalence and predictors of non-adherence to short-term antibiotics: A population-based survey

The public's antibiotic use behavioural patterns and their determinants for upper respiratory tract infections: a latent class analysis based on consumer behaviour model in China

Background

The irrational use of antibiotics among the public is a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is a serious global threat. Prior studies have demonstrated that there are different behavioural patterns regarding antibiotic use among the public, and targeted interventions for subgroups with different behavioural patterns may be more effective. Thus, this study aimed to identify the public's behavioural patterns of antibiotic use for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and their influencing factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the general population in Chongqing, China. Consumer decision-making (Consumer Behaviour Model, CBM) was used to assess the public's behaviours regarding antibiotic use, including need recognition, information searching, alternative evaluation, obtaining antibiotics, antibiotic consumption, and postuse evaluation. Furthermore, a latent class analysis was used to identify the underlying behavioural patterns among the public. The identified behavioural patterns of antibiotic use were further linked with individuals' capacity, opportunity, and motivation factors of antibiotic use based on a multinominal logistic regression to explore possible determinants.

Results

A total of 815 respondents were enrolled in the study. The public's irrational use of antibiotics was prevalent, including antibiotic self-medication (39.63%), nonprescription antibiotic purchasing (59.02%), and early stopping of antibiotic prescriptions (76.56%). Participants had inadequate knowledge of antibiotics (Mean = 2.33, SD = 1.71), reported high availability to antibiotics (Mean = 7.13, SD = 2.41), held strong belief in antibiotic effectiveness (Mean = 10.29, SD = 2.71), and demonstrated a high perceived threat of AMR (Mean = 12.30, SD = 3.20). Four behavioural patterns regarding antibiotic use for URTIs were identified, namely, "antibiotic self-medicators" (n = 165, 20.25%), "formal health care seekers" (n = 216, 26.50%), "various treatment users" (n = 198, 24.20%), and "self-medication without antibiotics" (n = 236, 28.96%). Individuals' self-efficacy of antibiotic use, belief in antibiotic effectiveness, awareness of antibiotic side effects, perceived antibiotic availability, social influence, and demographics (age, education, medical insurance, and having a medical background) were significantly associated with the public's different behavioural patterns of antibiotic use for URTIs.

Conclusion

This study calls for collaborative efforts among the public, physicians, policy makers, and the implementation of precise and multifaceted interventions to effectively reduce irrational use of antibiotics in the public. Such interventions include identifying subgroups within the public to provide more targeted education about antibiotics and the management of URTIs, reinforcing the regulation of antibiotic dispensing, and improving physicians' rational antibiotic prescriptions.

Prevalence and Mortality Rates of Acute Kidney Injury among Critically Ill Patients: A Retrospective Study

Acute kidney injury (AKI) poses a significant challenge in critically ill patients. To determine the prevalence, risk factors, and mortality rate of AKI among nonsurgical critically ill patients in Jordan University Hospital, we conducted a retrospective study using a consecutive sampling method, including 457 nonsurgical critically ill patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) from January to June 2021. The mean age was 63.8 ± 18 years, with 196 (42.8%) developing AKI during their stay in the MICU. Among AKI nonsurgical patients, pulmonary diseases (n = 52; 34.5%) emerged as the primary cause for admission, exhibiting the highest prevalence, followed by sepsis (n = 40; 20.4%). Furthermore, we found that older age (adjusted OR (AOR): 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04-1.06; p = 0.003), preadmission use of diuretics (AOR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.06-4.25; p = 0.03), use of ventilators (2.19; 95% CI: 1.12-2.29; p = 0.02), and vasopressor use during MICU stay (AOR: 4.25; 95% CI: 2.1308.47; p = 0.001) were observed to have higher mortality rates. Prior utilization of statins before admission exhibited a significant association with reduced mortality rate (AOR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.2-0.85; p = 0.02). Finally, AKI was associated with a higher mortality rate during MICU stay (AOR: 2.44; 95% CI: 1.07-5.56; p = 0.03). The prevalence of AKI among nonsurgical patients during MICU stay is higher than what has been reported previously in the literature, which highlights the nuanced importance of identifying more factors contributing to AKI in developing countries, and hence providing preventive measures and adhering to global strategies are recommended.