Effects of Rational Use of Antibiotics on Clinical Improvement of Pediatric Inpatients with Pneumonia

Among acute respiratory infections, pneumonia is the second leading cause of children’s death in Indonesia. The rational use of antibiotics has become a concern, because they play a significant role in managing pneumonia therapy. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effect of rational and irrational use of antibiotics on clinical improvement in pediatric inpatients with pneumonia. This retrospective-observational analytical study was conducted using a cross-sectional method. The study instruments were the medical records of pediatric inpatients with pneumonia from January 2019 to December 2020 at Dr. Saiful Anwar General Hospital Malang. The results showed that 64 (58.18%) and 46 (41.82%) patients received antibiotics rationally and irrationally, respectively. The rational usage had a significant effect on clinical improvement on the second day, including shorter length of hospitalization, restoration of normal body temperature, respiratory rate, pulse, and leukocyte count (p=0.001; p=0.001; p=0.001; p=0.001; p=0.024). Furthermore, on the fifth day, there was restoration of normal respiratory rate and leukocyte count (p=0.009; p=0.001). Based on the result, the rational use of antibiotics can accelerate clinical condition improvement in pediatric inpatients with pneumonia.