Antibiotic prescription practices in primary care in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The widespread use of antibiotics plays a major role in the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. However, important knowledge gaps still exist regarding the extent of their use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly at the primary care level. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies conducted in primary care in LMICs to estimate the prevalence of antibiotic prescriptions as well as the proportion of such prescriptions that are inappropriate.

Methods and findings

We searched PubMed, Embase, Global Health, and CENTRAL for articles published between 1 January 2010 and 4 April 2019 without language restrictions. We subsequently updated our search on PubMed only to capture publications up to 11 March 2020. Studies

SUBMITTER: Sulis G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7297306 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature