title: Antibiotic prescribing rates in the US ambulatory care setting for patients diagnosed with influenza, 1997-2001.
abstract: To document the rate and cost of antibiotic prescribing for patients diagnosed only with influenza during US ambulatory care visits. Federal survey data for 1997-2001 were used to estimate outpatient trends for all patients and healthy people age 5-49 years. Cost estimates were based on Medicare payments and Red Book average wholesale prices in 2003. Antibiotic prescribing for influenza is widespread; 38% of visits led to an antibiotic prescription of which one-third were for broad spectrum antibiotics. Inappropriate antibiotics cost dollar 18.5 million annually and may contribute to resistance. Increased vaccination rates and viral testing could reduce these trends.
authors.affiliation: MedImmune, Inc., One MedImmune Way, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA. cieslag@medimmune.com
authors.forename: Gabrielle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciesla
authors.forename: Shelah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leader
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoddard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000191:economics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents