Abstract

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the leading causes of diseases and death in children under five years old. Antibiotic intervention plays an important role in controlling bacterial infections and reducing pneumonia-related mortality in this population.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 220 medical records of children under 5 years old had a diagnosis of pneumonia and were excluded cases of hospital-acquired pneumonia (onset after 48 hours of admission).

Results: All patients responded well to the treatment regimens. Monotherapy was prescribed as the initial antibiotic regimen in 92.3% of cases, while combination therapy was used in 7.7%. Third-generation cephalosporins were the most frequently prescribed antibiotic group. Using antibiotic injection was the highest, accounting for 75.4% of all cases. The rates of appropriate dosing and dosing interval in the initial regimens, when compared to standard reference guidelines, remained low at 30.3% and 17.5%, respectively.

Conclusion: It is essential to develop hospital-specific antibiotic use guidelines, apply technology systems to support prescribing and dose calculation, and strengthen training programs for healthcare personnel to improve rational antibiotic use.