Antibiotic Prescribing in Outpatient Children: A Cohort From a Clinical Data Warehouse

Abstract

Aim. To characterize antibiotic (ab) prescriptions in children. Methods. Evaluation of outpatient ab prescriptions in a 3-year cohort of children in primary care using a data warehouse (Massachusetts Health Disparities Repository) by comorbid conditions, demographics, and clinical indication. Results. A total of 15 208 children with nearly 120 000 outpatient visits were included. About one third had a comorbid condition (most commonly asthma). Among the 30 000 ab prescriptions, first-line penicillins and macrolides represented the most frequent ab (70%), followed by cephalosporins (16%). Comorbid children had 54.3 ab prescriptions/100 child-years versus 38.8 in children without comorbidity; ab prescription was higher in urinary tract infections (>60% of episodes), otitis, lower respiratory tract infections (>50%), especially in comorbid children and children under 2 year old. Ab prescriptions were significantly associated with younger age, emergency room visit, comorbid children, and acute infections. Discussion. A clinical data warehouse could help in designing appropriate antimicrobial stewardship programs and represent a potential assessment tool.