Factors associated with antibiotic misuse in outpatient treatment for upper respiratory tract infections

• Published in: Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy Vol. 59; no. 7; pp. 3848 - 3852
• Main Authors: Schroeck, Jennifer L, Ruh, Christine A, Sellick, Jr, John A, Ott, Michael C, Mattappallil, Arun, Mergenhagen, Kari A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.07.2015
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care; Amoxicillin-Potassium Clavulanate Combination - therapeutic use; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Azithromycin - therapeutic use; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Clinical Therapeutics; Drug Utilization; Drug Utilization - statistics & numerical data; Female; Fluoroquinolones - therapeutic use; Humans; Inappropriate Prescribing; Inappropriate Prescribing - statistics & numerical data; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Outpatients; Practice Patterns, Physicians; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections - drug therapy; Retrospective Studies; United States; United States
• DOI: 10.1128/AAC.00652-15
• ISSN: 0066-4804

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has promoted the appropriate use of antibiotics since 1995 when it initiated the National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in the Community. This study examined upper respiratory tract infections included in the campaign to determine the degree to which antibiotics were appropriately prescribed and subsequent admission rates in a veteran population. This study was a retrospective chart review conducted among outpatients with a diagnosis of a respiratory tract infection, including bronchitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, or nonspecific upper respiratory tract infection, between January 2009 and December 2011. The study found that 595 (35.8%) patients were treated appropriately, and 1,067 (64.2%) patients received therapy considered inappropriate based on the Get Smart Campaign criteria. Overall the subsequent readmission rate was 1.5%. The majority (77.5%) of patients were prescribed an antibiotic. The most common antibiotics prescribed were azithromycin (39.0%), amoxicillin-clavulanate (13.2%), and moxifloxacin (7.5%). A multivariate regression analysis demonstrated significant predictors of appropriate treatment, including the presence of tonsillar exudates (odds ratio [OR], 0.6; confidence interval [CI], 0.3 to 0.9), fever (OR, 0.6; CI, 0.4 to 0.9), and lymphadenopathy (OR, 0.4; CI, 0.3 to 0.6), while penicillin allergy (OR, 2.9; CI, 1.7 to 4.7) and cough (OR, 1.6; CI, 1.1 to 2.2) were significant predictors for inappropriate treatment. Poor compliance with the Get Smart Campaign was found in outpatients for respiratory infections. Results from this study demonstrate the overprescribing of antibiotics, while providing a focused view of improper prescribing. This article provides evidence that current efforts are insufficient for curtailing inappropriate antibiotic use.