title: Stool cultures and antimicrobial prescriptions related to infectious diarrhea.
abstract: Stool cultures can be important in guiding antimicrobial therapy for diarrhea. From among 11.64 million person-years of Tennessee Medicaid enrollment data collected from 1995 through 2004, 315,828 diarrheal episodes were identified. Stool cultures were performed for only 15,820 episodes (5.0%). Antimicrobials were prescribed for 32,949 episodes (10.4%), 89.4% of which were not accompanied by a stool culture. White race and urban residence were associated with higher rates of stool culture. Frequent use of antimicrobials for diarrhea without stool culture may indicate inappropriate antimicrobial use and has critical implications for public health.
authors.affiliation: Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. L.Rand.Carpenter@state.tn.us
authors.forename: L Rand
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pont
authors.forename: William O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Marie R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dudley
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arbogast
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schaffner
authors.forename: Timothy F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013714:Tennessee; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents