title: Narrow- and Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Use among U.S. Children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide updated estimates of narrow- and broad-spectrum antibiotic use among U.S. children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Linked nationally representative data from the 2004-2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component and the 2000 Decennial Census.
  
  
  METHODS
  Relationships between individual-, family-, and community-level characteristics and the use of antibiotics overall and in the treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are examined using multinomial choice models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than one quarter (27.3 percent) of children used at least one antibiotic each year with 12.8 percent using broad-spectrum and 18.5 percent using narrow-spectrum antibiotics. Among children with use, more than two-thirds (68.6 percent) used antibiotics to treat RTIs. Multivariate models revealed many differences across groups in antibiotic use, overall and in the treatment of RTIs. Differential use was associated with a broad range of factors related to need (e.g., age, health status), resources (e.g., insurance status, parental income, and education), race-ethnicity, and Census region.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite encouraging reports regarding the declining use of antibiotics, large differences in use associated with resources, race-ethnicity, and Census regions suggest a need for further improvement in the judicious and appropriate prescribing of antibiotics for U.S. children.
authors.affiliation: Division of Modeling and Simulation, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sarpong
authors.affiliation: Division of Modeling and Simulation, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
authors.forename: G Edward
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000145:classification* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Children; antibiotics; multinomial choice model; narrow- and broad-spectrum