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Table 2 Use of antibiotics for treatment of watery diarrhoea in children up to 4 years of age at two large health care centres in Abakaliki, Nigeria

From: Apparent overuse of antibiotics in the management of watery diarrhoea in children in Abakaliki, Nigeria

Variable

N*

Treated with antibiotics

Number (%)

95% confidence interval (mid-P Exact)

P value

Age <  1 year

136

117 (86.0)

79.4–91.1

0.598

Age 1–4 years

63

56 (88.9)

79.3–95.0

Female

74

62 (83.8)

74.1–90.9

0.299

Male

119

106 (89.1)

82.5–93.8

Urban

88

72 (81.8)

72.7–88.9

0.066

Rural

110

100 (90.9)

84.4–95.3

No fever

3

3 (100)

36.8–100.0

0.656

Fever

196

170 (86.7)

81.4–91.0

No vomiting

15

12 (80.0)

54.7–94.7

0.423

Vomiting

184

161 (87.5)

82.1–91.7

No mucus in stool

59

54 (91.5)

82.2–96.8

0.247

Mucus in stool

137

117 (85.4)

78.7–90.6

No blood in stool

189

163 (86.2)

80.8–90.6

0.238

Blood in stool

10

10 (100.0)

74.1–100.0

Diarrhoea duration:

<  1 week

148

129 (87.2)

81.0–91.9

0.854

Duration of diarrhoea: 1 week or more

51

44 (86.3)

74.7–93.8

Diarrhoea frequency: up to 3 times per 24 h

58

45 (77.6)

65.6–86.9

0.018**

Diarrhoea frequency:

>  3 times per 24 h

141

128 (90.8)

85.1–94.8

Total

199

173 (86.9)

81.7–91.1

 
  1. *Whether antibiotics were used was not reported for one child, gender was not reported for six children, rural-urban was missing data for one child, and presence of mucus in stool was not reported for three children
  2. **Statistically significant difference