Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 Aug 17;313(7054):387-91.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.313.7054.387.

Do antimicrobials increase the carriage rate of penicillin resistant pneumococci in children? Cross sectional prevalence study

V A Arason  1 , K G Kristinsson, J A Sigurdsson, G Stefánsdóttir, S Mölstad, S Gudmundsson
Affiliations

Do antimicrobials increase the carriage rate of penicillin resistant pneumococci in children? Cross sectional prevalence study

V A Arason et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objective: To study the correlation of antimicrobial consumption with the carriage rate of penicillin resistant and multiresistant pneumococci in children.

Design: Cross sectional and analytical prevalence study.

Setting: Five different communities in Iceland.

Main outcome measure: Prevalence of nasopharyngeal carriage of penicillin resistant pneumococci in children aged under 7 years in relation to antibiotic use as determined by information from parents, patient's records, and total sales of antimicrobials from local pharmacies in four study areas.

Results: Total antimicrobial sales for children (6223 prescriptions) among the four areas for which data were available ranged from 9.6 to 23.2 defined daily doses per 1000 children daily (1.1 to 2.6 courses yearly per child). Children under 2 consumed twice as much as 2-6 year olds (20.5 v 10.9 defined daily doses per 1000 children daily). Nasopharyngeal specimens were obtained from 919 children, representing 15-38% of the peer population groups in the different areas. Pneumococci were carried by 484 (52.7%) of the children, 47 (9.7%) of the isolates being resistant to penicillin or multiresistant. By multivariate analysis age (< 2 years), area (highest antimicrobial consumption), and individual use of antimicrobials significantly influenced the odds of carrying penicillin resistant pneumococci. By univariate analysis, recent antimicrobial use (two to seven weeks) and use of co-trimoxazole were also significantly associated with carriage of penicillin resistant pneumococci.

Conclusions: Antimicrobial use, with regard to both individual use and total antimicrobial consumption in the community, is strongly associated with nasopharyngeal carriage of penicillin resistant pneumococci in children. Control measures to reduce the prevalence of penicillin resistant pneumococci should include reducing the use of antimicrobials in community health care.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Med Microbiol. 1973 May;6(2):187-90 - PubMed
    1. Microb Drug Resist. 1995 Summer;1(2):121-5 - PubMed
    1. J Infect Dis. 1980 Dec;142(6):923-33 - PubMed
    1. Rev Infect Dis. 1983 Nov-Dec;5(6):1033-48 - PubMed
    1. Scand J Prim Health Care. 1986 May;4(2):101-4 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances