\documentclass[10pt]{article}

\usepackage{fullpage}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{parskip}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\usepackage[section]{placeins}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{breakcites}
\usepackage{lineno}
\usepackage{hyphenat}





\PassOptionsToPackage{hyphens}{url}
\usepackage[colorlinks = true,
            linkcolor = blue,
            urlcolor  = blue,
            citecolor = blue,
            anchorcolor = blue]{hyperref}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd\@combinedblfloats{\box\@outputbox}{\unvbox\@outputbox}{}{%
  \errmessage{\noexpand\@combinedblfloats could not be patched}%
}%
\makeatother


\usepackage{natbib}




\renewenvironment{abstract}
  {{\bfseries\noindent{\abstractname}\par\nobreak}\footnotesize}
  {\bigskip}

\titlespacing{\section}{0pt}{*3}{*1}
\titlespacing{\subsection}{0pt}{*2}{*0.5}
\titlespacing{\subsubsection}{0pt}{*1.5}{0pt}


\usepackage{authblk}


\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage[space]{grffile}
\usepackage{latexsym}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{tabulary}
\usepackage{booktabs,array,multirow}
\usepackage{amsfonts,amsmath,amssymb}
\providecommand\citet{\cite}
\providecommand\citep{\cite}
\providecommand\citealt{\cite}
% You can conditionalize code for latexml or normal latex using this.
\newif\iflatexml\latexmlfalse
\providecommand{\tightlist}{\setlength{\itemsep}{0pt}\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}}%

\AtBeginDocument{\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{.pdf,.PDF,.eps,.EPS,.png,.PNG,.tif,.TIF,.jpg,.JPG,.jpeg,.JPEG}}

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[english]{babel}



\usepackage{float}








\begin{document}

\title{DRUG UTILIZATION EVALUATION IN UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION IN
PEDIATRIC POPULATION IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF NORTH INDIA}



\author[1]{Seema Bansal}%
\author[1]{Ritesh Rauniyar}%
\author[1]{Raju Kumar Mandal}%
\author[2]{Rupa Joshi}%
\author[1]{* Rishabh}%
\author[2]{Ashwani Sood K}%
\author[1]{Tarun Singh}%
\affil[1]{Maharishi Markandeshwar College of Pharmacy}%
\affil[2]{Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University) Institute of Medical Sciences and Research}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{June 18, 2024}


\begingroup
\let\center\flushleft
\let\endcenter\endflushleft
\maketitle
\endgroup





\selectlanguage{english}
\begin{abstract}
\textbf{Purpose:} The current study aimed to evaluate the drug
utilization pattern in pediatric outpatients suffering from Upper
Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) in a tertiary care center.
\textbf{Materials and methods:} A cross-sectional study was carried out
in a tertiary care hospital for period of six months (December-May) on
pediatric patients (age[?]12years) diagnosed with URTI. Data like
demographic details, diagnosis, World Health organization (WHO)
prescribing indicators, different class of drugs prescribed, antibiotic
treatment, and different dosage forms etc. were gathered from pediatric
outpatient's department (OPD). \textbf{Results:} A total of 153
prescriptions were evaluated, of these 84(54.9\%) were males and rest
69(45.1\%) were females. Mainly school children 89(58.17\%) of age group
between 6-12 years visited outpatient's pediatric department. Fever and
cough were the commonly recorded clinical symptoms in the prescription
analyzed, accounting for 81\% and 66.7\% respectively. The average
number of drugs prescribed were 2.38 per prescription; most commonly
prescribed medication for the management of URTI was antipyretics
111(72.5\%), antihistamines 94(61.3\%) followed by antibiotics
55(35.9\%). Amoxiclav \{amoxicillin + clavulanic acid\} (31.66\%) and
cefixime (30\%) were the common antibacterial prescribed. Majority of
medications (85\%) were from WHO model list of essential medicines, and
36.43\% were prescribed by their generic name. Moreover, it was observed
that more than 90\% of the antibiotics were prescribed without
investigations for bacterial infections. The most preferred route for
administration of drugs were oral (86.3\%) followed by parenteral and
nasal. \textbf{Conclusion:} Symptomatic treatment was offered in most of
the prescriptions audited and antibiotics were prescribed with no
definite evidence of bacterial infection. Initiation of Antimicrobial
Stewardship programs and National Action Plan on Antimicrobial
Resistance (NAP-AMR) guidelines in health care institutes can help
prescribers to follow rational drug therapy.%
\end{abstract}%



\sloppy


\textbf{Hosted file}

\verb`finalized end note manuscript.docx`  available at \url{https://authorea.com/users/777960/articles/912105-drug-utilization-evaluation-in-upper-respiratory-tract-infection-in-pediatric-population-in-a-tertiary-care-hospital-of-north-india}

\selectlanguage{english}
\FloatBarrier
\end{document}

