Stool cultures and antimicrobial prescriptions related to infectious diarrhea.
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.
Carpenter
L Rand
LR
Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. L.Rand.Carpenter@state.tn.us
Pont
Stephen J
SJ
Cooper
William O
WO
Griffin
Marie R
MR
Dudley
Judith A
JA
Arbogast
Patrick
P
Schaffner
William
W
Jones
Timothy F
TF
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
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents