Children of doctors and pharmacists are significantly less likely to be given antibiotics for common colds and viral respiratory infections compared with children in the general population, Taiwanese researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.
Dr Yiing-Jenq Chou of National Yang Ming University, Taipei and colleagues note that antibiotic resistance might be reduced if parents were better informed about the uselessness of these agents in viral infections.

Much of such prescribing has been attributed to being a response to parental demands.

To see if health professionals might be aware of this limitation and thus reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing to their own children.

Copyright Reuters, 2005