A Real-World Perspective of Co-amoxiclav Prescription Pattern With Probiotics for Pediatric Patients With Respiratory Tract Infections: Results of Quantitative and Qualitative Approach in Indian Outpatient Settings.

Background: Probiotics are co-prescribed with co-amoxiclav to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). The study assesses the co-prescription pattern of probiotics with co-amoxiclav in pediatric patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs).
Methods: This was a mixed methods research study with a retrospective study and a prospective survey. The retrospective part included a multicenter, observational, real-world study utilizing patients' electronic medical records for three years (2018-2020) from seven outpatient pediatric clinics and hospitals. The qualitative evaluation was performed with a predefined questionnaire.
Results: The patients having RTIs (N=984) were prescribed Clamp ^® (46.7%), CAA (23.8%), and CAM (29.5%). The mean age of the patients was 4.05 years, with 59.25% males and most patients having upper RTIs. Co-amoxiclav was prescribed twice daily for one to 15 days. A significantly lesser number of probiotic co-prescriptions were observed with Clamp ^® (19.57%) than with CAA (38.46%) and CAM (29.31%) at baseline ( p <0.001). Similar findings were observed for follow-up visits one and two. Saccharomyces boulardii , Bacillus clausii ,and lactic acid bacillus were the most commonly co-prescribed probiotics. The qualitative evaluation indicated that most clinicians were aware of the co-amoxiclav-related gastrointestinal side effects and the benefits of probiotics in preventing them.
Conclusion: The frequency of co-prescriptions of probiotics with Clamp ^® among pediatric patients with RTIs was significantly less, potentially indicating better gastrointestinal tolerability.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section.
(Copyright © 2023, Choudhury et al.)