ABSTRACT
Introduction: According to the WHO, more than two-thirds of all antibiotics are used in the community, of which about 30% are used inappropriately. The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem is a growing threat to Nepal because of indiscriminate and inappropriate use. However, exact data on the extent of inappropriate use of antibiotics in the community is scarce in Nepal. Objectives: To know the extent of inappropriate use of antibiotics among the community and their knowledge and practice towards the usage of antibiotics. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 20 December 2017 to 20 March 2018 using a purposive sampling technique. A semi-structured questionnaire was used while conducting face-to-face interviews with 336 respondents to find out the knowledge and practice regarding antibiotic use. Investigators took different antibiotics (in all dosage forms) with them to show participants whether they knew and/or used the antibiotics in the last year. Results: The mean age of respondents with standard deviation was 39.87±13.67 years ranging from 18 to 84 years. Around 35.42% of respondents were farmers and 34.52% were homemakers. 28.87% of respondents were illiterate, 32.44% had primary education and 33.33% had secondary education. Almost half of them (48.51%) think that antibiotics are safe and can be commonly used. So, 43.15% of them preferred taking antibiotics when they had a common cold. The majority of the participants (81.84%) did not have any idea about antibiotic resistance. 94.6% of the respondents used antibiotics inappropriately. Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed that inappropriate use of antibiotics is high and associated with low earning wages in both males and females in the age group 18-39 years.
ABSTRACT
Introduction and importance: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile systemic vasculitis that predominantly affects small to medium sized vessels and mostly occurs in children below 5 years of age. The morbidity and mortality mostly occur due to cardiac involvement. Case presentation: The authors present a case of a 5-year-old male child from hilly region of Nepal who presented with fever for 7 days along with strawberry tongue and non-exudative conjunctivitis without rashes, extremity changes or lymphadenopathy. A suspicion of incomplete KD (IKD) was made. The notable investigation findings were increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, leucocyte count and platelets. Echocardiography showed normal findings. Based on the clinical features and supplemental laboratory findings, a diagnosis of IKD was made. The patient improved after intravenous immunoglobulin and Aspirin. Clinical discussion: The main learning objective that the authors get from this case is the challenges in the diagnosis of IKD in the resource limited setting like Nepal. Whether or not to start intravenous immunoglobulin is a dilemma for the physician in most of the cases of suspected IKD, due to the high cost and poor availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in this setting. Hence, the use of inflammatory markers, supplemental laboratory findings together with the few diagnostic criteria met by the patient helps in making a diagnosis and institute timely treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin. Conclusion: Diagnosis of KD in difficult in resource limited setting.
