| Title | Antibiotic prescription pattern for viral respiratory illness in emergency room and ambulatory care settings. | ||
| Author | Nadeem Ahmed, M; Muyot, Maria M; Begum, Shahana; Smith, Patti; Little, Charletta; Windemuller, Fernando J | ||
| Journal | Clin Pediatr (Phila) | Publication Year/Month | 2010-Jun |
| PMID | 20075029 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation | 1.Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, IL, USA. nadeem.ahmed@carle.com. | ||
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the current practice pattern of antibiotic prescription rate in viral respiratory tract infection diagnosed children among different specialty health care providers. METHODS: The study was a retrospective case review study where a random sample of 1200 child care visits coded as viral respiratory infections in primary care provider\'s office, convenient care clinic, or emergency room in 2006 were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall, the antibiotic prescription rate was 30%. The prescription rate was 3.7 times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.90-7.31) higher for bronchitis patients and 2.5 times (95% CI = 1.46-4.30) higher for viral pharyngitis patients than for common cold patients. Antibiotics were written more by emergency physicians (odds ratio [OR] = 11.04; 95% CI = 5.78-21.10) and family practitioners (OR = 5.22; 95% CI = 2.99-9.10) than by pediatricians. CONCLUSION: Although not recommended, children seen in the emergency room and family practitioner\'s office are more likely to receive antibiotic prescriptions than those seen in the pediatrician\'s office.