WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- Doctors are being more careful when prescribing antibiotics for children with viral respiratory tract infections, but inappropriate antibiotic use is still common.
That's the finding of a study in the November issue of The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Dr. David R. Nash and colleagues used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to study antibiotic-prescribing patterns between 1995 and 1998 of doctors caring for children 18 and younger.
They looked at diagnosis and prescription information from 13,078 visits by children to family doctors and pediatricians.
The study found that children who saw their doctor in 1998 and were diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) or bronchitis were about two-thirds less likely to be treated with antibiotics compared to children with the same diagnoses who visited their doctor in 1995.
The researchers also found that children diagnosed with either sinusitis or otitis media in 1998 were about a third less likely to receive an inappropriate antibiotic than children in 1995.
The study notes the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains is partly caused by doctors too often prescribing antibiotics for children with URTIs caused by viruses, which don't respond to antibiotics.
About 75 percent of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions given to children are for upper respiratory tract conditions, including viral URTIs, bronchitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis and otitis media.
The authors say that their study shows some improvements, but that inappropriate antibiotic use is still common.
"Almost half of patients with URTIs received antibiotics, even though these conditions are known to be of viral origin. Even in conditions like sinusitis and otitis media, for which antibiotic therapy is appropriate, an inappropriate antibiotic is used more than 10 percent of the time," write the authors.
"Our results suggest that interventions to improve the prescribing of antibiotics should focus on changing treatment patterns for both URTIs and bronchitis. The interventions should be aimed at all types of physicians and also directed toward parents and patients to dampen their enthusiasm for antibiotics," the authors add.
More information
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about antibiotic resistance.
