UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS AMONG CHILDREN

3562 WORDS

“Duration of symptoms of respiratory tract infections in children: a systematic review” by Thompson et al., (2013) describes the duration of symptoms of respiratory tract infections that commonly occur in children in settings of primary care. It was a systematic review using PubMed, CINAHL. The population involved children suffering from acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs)  in high-income regions and the methodology involved the test of study quality. The findings and conclusions of the study were that common cold and earaches lasted longer as compared to symptoms like a sore throat and bronchiolitis. This article is relevant to the topic of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) among children and the information obtained can be extrapolated to most of the population across the US and UK.

 “Respiratory tract infections among children younger than five years: current management in Australian general practice” by Biezen et al., (2015) is a study exploring how the Australian general practice is currently managing common URTIs among children of less than five years. It was a cross-sectional survey involving a sample of 4522 healthcare practitioners, where the results indicated that the management of URTIs was sufficiently higher than conditions like acute tonsillitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia. The treatment involved significant use of antibiotics, and it varied according to the clinical presentation of the disease, the age of the patient and their sex.

“Management of respiratory tract infections in young children—a qualitative study of primary care providers’ perspectives” by Biezen et al., (2017) is a study that used a cross-sectional qualitative design to underscore how the multidisciplinary teams in healthcare manage this. The population was 30 primary care providers who were interviewed, and the findings indicated that they did not follow the standard recommendations given for treating URTIs. The study is relevant in this topic since it expounds on the possible complex interactions that involve psychological components during the decision making process while caring for children with URTIs.

Alexandrino et al. did a study. (2016) on “Risk factors for respiratory infections among children attending day care centers” aimed to characterize the risk factors for URTIs,acute otitis media (AOM)andlower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) among children in a daycare center. The study’s population was 152 where the inclusion criteria were up to 3yeras old. It was established that the risk factors at the daycare were linked with URTI while the LRTI was associated with risk factors related to household and mothers. This study has been chosen to help underscore the possible risk factors and etiology of URTIs among the