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Variations in Antibiotic and Azithromycin Prescribing for Children by Geography and Specialty-United States, 2013.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Using antibiotics appropriately is critical to slow spread of antibiotic resistance, a major public health problem. Children, especially young children, receive more antibiotics than other age groups. Our objective was to describe antibiotic use in children in the United States and use of azithromycin, which is recommended infrequently for pediatric conditions. METHODS:We used QuintilesIMS Xponent 2013 data to calculate the number and rate of oral antibiotic prescriptions for children by age (0-2, 3-9 and 10-19 years) and agent. We used log-binomial regression to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals to determine if specialty and patient age were associated with azithromycin selection when an antibiotic was prescribed. RESULTS:In 2013, 66.8 million antibiotics were prescribed to US children ?19 years of age (813 antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 children). Amoxicillin and azithromycin were the 2 most commonly prescribed agents (23.1 million courses, 35% of all antibiotics; 12.2 million, 18%, respectively). Most antibiotics for children were prescribed by pediatricians (39%) and family practitioners (15%). Family practitioners were more likely to select azithromycin when an antibiotic was prescribed in all age groups than pediatricians (for children 0-2 years of age: prevalence ratio: 1.79, 95% confidence interval: 1.78-1.80; 3-9 years: 1.40, 1.40-1.40 and 10-19 years: 1.18, 1.18-1.18). CONCLUSION:Despite infrequent pediatric recommendations, variations in pediatric azithromycin use may suggest inappropriate antibiotic selection. Public health interventions focused on improving antibiotic selection in children as well as reducing antibiotic overuse are needed.

SUBMITTER: Fleming-Dutra KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6622452 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Variations in Antibiotic and Azithromycin Prescribing for Children by Geography and Specialty-United States, 2013.

Fleming-Dutra Katherine E KE Demirjian Alicia A Bartoces Monina M Roberts Rebecca M RM Taylor Thomas H TH Hicks Lauri A LA

The Pediatric infectious disease journal 20180101 1

<h4>Background</h4>Using antibiotics appropriately is critical to slow spread of antibiotic resistance, a major public health problem. Children, especially young children, receive more antibiotics than other age groups. Our objective was to describe antibiotic use in children in the United States and use of azithromycin, which is recommended infrequently for pediatric conditions.<h4>Methods</h4>We used QuintilesIMS Xponent 2013 data to calculate the number and rate of oral antibiotic prescriptio ...[more]

PMID: 28746259

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Project description:Importance:Although palliative care (PC) historically focused on patients with cancer and those near the end of life, evidence increasingly demonstrates a benefit to patients with a broad range of serious illnesses and to those earlier in their illness. The field of PC has expanded and evolved rapidly, resulting in a need to characterize practice over time to understand whether it reflects evolving evidence and guidelines. Objective:To characterize current practice and trends among patients cared for and outcomes achieved by inpatient specialty PC services in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants:This retrospective cohort study was performed from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, at 88 US hospitals in which PC teams voluntarily participate in the Palliative Care Quality Network (PCQN), a national quality improvement collaborative. A total of 135 197 patients were referred to PCQN teams during the study period. Initial analyses of the study data were conducted from March 3 to March 21, 2018. Exposure:Inpatient PC consultation. Main Outcomes and Measures:A total of 23 standardized data elements collected by PCQN teams that provided information about the characteristics of referred patients, including age, sex, Palliative Performance Scale score, and primary diagnosis leading to PC consult; reason(s) given for the consultation; and processes of care provided by the PC team, including disciplines involved, number of family meetings held, advance care planning documentation completed, and screened for and intervened on needs. Results:A total of 135 197 patients were referred to inpatient PC (51.0% female; mean age, 71.3 years [range, 57.8-82.5 years]) and were significantly debilitated (mean Palliative Performance Scale score, 34.7%; range, 14.9%-56.8%). Cancer was the most common primary diagnosis (32.0%; range, 11.3%-93.9%), although rates decreased from 2013 to 2017 (odds ratio [OR], 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79-0.91; P < .001). Pain and other symptoms were common and improved significantly during the consultation period (pain: χ2 = 5234.4, P < .001; anxiety: χ2 = 2020.7, P < .001; nausea: χ2 = 1311.8, P < .001; dyspnea: χ2 = 1993.5, P < .001). Most patients were discharged alive (78.7%; range, 44.7%-99.4%), and this number increased over time (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.27-1.46; P < .001). Compared with 2013, rates of discharge referral to clinic-based (OR, 4.00; 95% CI, 2.95-5.43; P < .001) and home-based PC (OR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.92-3.61; P < .001) also increased significantly by 2017, whereas referrals to hospice decreased (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.51-0.62; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance:Inpatient PC teams cared for an increasing percentage of patients with diagnoses other than cancer and saw more patients discharged alive, consistent with guidelines recommending specialty PC for all patients with serious illness earlier in their illnesses. Most patients with symptoms improved quickly. Variation in practice and outcomes among PCQN members suggests that there are opportunities for further improvements in care.

Dataset Information

Variations in Antibiotic and Azithromycin Prescribing for Children by Geography and Specialty-United States, 2013.

Publications

Variations in Antibiotic and Azithromycin Prescribing for Children by Geography and Specialty-United States, 2013.

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