health
Antibiotic prescribing common, often inappropriate in pediatric ambulatory care
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 19, 2011
Antibiotics often are inappropriately prescribed during pediatric ambulatory care visits, according to a study in the December issue of Pediatrics.
Researchers assessed data on pediatric patient visits from 2006 through 2008 using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. They found that antibiotics were prescribed in 21% of pediatric ambulatory visits (link). Half of prescriptions were for broad-spectrum drugs, which are more likely to promote antibiotic resistance than narrow-spectrum medications.
Antibiotics were prescribed 72% of the time for respiratory conditions, the study showed. In 23% of these cases, the use of antibiotics was potentially inappropriate for the respiratory illness, researchers said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/12/19/hlbf1219.htm.
