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Antibiotic prescribing for children for acute conditions in public primary care clinics in Singapore: a retrospective cohort database study

Part of: APSIC 2024

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2025

Sky Wei Chee Koh
Affiliation:
Division of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore National University PolyclinicsNational University Health System, Singapore 609606, Singapore
Vivien Min Er Lee
Affiliation:
Division of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Si Hui Low
Affiliation:
National University PolyclinicsNational University Health System, Singapore 609606, Singapore
Anna Szuecs
Affiliation:
Division of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Victor Weng Keong Loh
Affiliation:
Division of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Meena Sundram
Affiliation:
National University PolyclinicsNational University Health System, Singapore 609606, Singapore
Linus Kee Loon Chua
Affiliation:
National University PolyclinicsNational University Health System, Singapore 609606, Singapore
José M. Valderas
Affiliation:
Division of Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Li Yang Hsu
Affiliation:
Saw Swee Hock School of Public HealthNational University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore

Abstract

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Objectives: Data on primary care antibiotic prescription practices for children in Southeast Asia, which are essential for policy, quality improvement and patient safety, are lacking. We aimed to describe this gap and to benchmark prescription practices against international standards. Methods: Antibiotic prescriptions for children (age <18 years) who visited six public primary care clinics in Singapore between 2018 and 2021 were extracted and categorized according to the World Health Organization Access, Watch, Reserve (WHO AWaRe) classification. Quality indicators from the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network (ESAC- Net) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines were used as a measure of appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing. Descriptive statistics and T-test was used to compare prescription rates pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic. Results: 19,325 and 20,692 oral and topical antibiotics were prescribed for 831,669 visits, with a prescription rate of 2.3% and 2.5% respectively. Mean antibiotic prescriptions fell significantly post-pandemic (2020–2021), compared to pre-pandemic numbers (1062.8 to 604.5 prescriptions per month) (p <0.001). The majority (95.8%) of prescriptions belonged to the Access group. Watch group antibiotics constituted 6.1% of the total antibiotics prescribed for respiratory conditions (n = 562). While prescriptions were low (4.1%) and well within EASC-Net quality indicator limits of 0-20% for respiratory infections, prescriptions for otitis media were significantly high (56.6%). Approximately 1 in 2 children received antibiotics as recommended by NICE guidelines for both respiratory infections (n=4,622, 51.5%) and otitis media (n=204, 51.8%). Conclusions: Primary care antibiotic prescriptions for children in Singapore decreased post- COVID-19. However, high rates of otitis media prescriptions and only 50% appropriateness for respiratory infections and otitis media emphasize the need for targeted improvements in these areas.

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Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America