Antibiotic receipt by respiratory symptom group and source of care among children under five in Bangladesh: repeated cross-sectional analyses of national surveys, 2019 and 2025

Background: Antibiotic use for childhood respiratory illness is common in low-income and middle-income countries, but national surveys rarely separate symptom groups or care pathways. We estimated antibiotic receipt among children under five in Bangladesh by reported respiratory symptom group, source of care and household wealth. Methods: We analysed the 2019 and 2025 Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. We included 4,010 children with cough and difficult breathing in the previous two weeks (3,990 in regression models). We compared breathing difficulty from the chest (suspected pneum

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