title: Reduction in antibiotic use among US children, 1996-2000.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  High rates of antibiotic prescribing to children contribute to antibiotic resistance in the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with other national and state level organizations, have actively promoted more judicious prescribing for children.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to assess changes in the rate of antibiotic prescribing from 1996-2000 in 9 US health plans, patterns of diagnosis and treatment responsible for these trends, and changes in the use of first-line antimicrobial agents.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed claims data for dispensed medications and physician visits from 9 health plans. Each provided data on 25,000 children aged 3 months to <18 years enrolled between September 1, 1995, and August 31, 2000. Antibiotic dispensings were linked with an ambulatory visit claim to assign diagnosis. Antibiotic dispensings per person-year (antibiotics/p-y) were calculated for the age groups 3 months to <3 years, 3 years to <6 years, and 6 years to <18 years. The contribution of each diagnosis to changes in the overall rate of antibiotic use was determined. Generalized linear mixed models were used to test for trend and assess differences in rates by site.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 1996-2000, antibiotic rates for children 3 months to <3 years decreased from 2.46 to 1.89 antibiotics/p-y (24%); for children 3 years to <6 years from 1.47 to 1.09 antibiotics/p-y (25%); and for children 6 to <18 years from 0.85 to 0.69 antibiotics/p-y (16%). The reduction varied among health plans from 6% to 39% for children 3 months to <3 years. A decrease in prescriptions for otitis media accounted for 59% of the total decrease, and was primarily accounted for by a decrease in the rate of diagnosis of this condition. The proportion of first-line penicillins increased from 49% to 53%, with health plans with the lowest initial rates increasing most.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Antibiotic prescribing decreased significantly between 1996 and 2000, concurrent with decreased frequency of diagnosis of potential bacterial infections, especially otitis media. Attention by public health and professional organizations and the news media to antibiotic resistance may have contributed to changes in diagnostic thresholds, resulting in more judicious prescribing.
authors.affiliation: HMO Research Network Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics. Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. jonathan_finkelstein@hphc.org
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stille
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Marsha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Raebel
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roblin
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.forename: K Arnold
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents