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. 2005 Mar;11(3):380-4.
doi: 10.3201/eid1103.040819.

Antimicrobial drug prescribing for pneumonia in ambulatory care

Conan MacDougall  1 , B Joseph Guglielmo, Judy Maselli, Ralph Gonzales
Affiliations

Antimicrobial drug prescribing for pneumonia in ambulatory care

Conan MacDougall et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Mar.

Abstract

To determine patterns and predictors of antimicrobial drug use for outpatients with community-acquired pneumonia, we examined office visit and pharmacy claims data of 4 large third-party payer organizations from 2000 to 2002. After patients with coexisting conditions were excluded, 4,538 patients were studied. Despite lack of coexisting conditions, fluoroquinolone use was commonly observed and increased significantly (p < 0.001) from 2000 to 2002 (24%-39%), while macrolide use decreased (55%-44%). Increased age correlated with increased fluoroquinolone use: 18-44 years (22%), 45-64 years (33%), and > or =65 years (40%) (p < 0.001). Increased use of fluoroquinolones occurred in healthy young and old patients alike, which suggests a lack of selectivity in reserving fluoroquinolones for higher risk patients. Clear and consistent guidelines are needed to address the role of fluoroquinolones in treatment of outpatient community-acquired pneumonia.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Antimicrobial drug treatment of outpatient pneumonia by year. Percentage of all study patients receiving a particular class of antimicrobial drug for an episode of community-acquired pneumonia for each year of the study, across all age groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Antimicrobial drug treatment of outpatient pneumonia by age. Percentage of all study patients receiving a particular class of antimicrobial drug for an episode of community-acquired pneumonia by age group, across all study years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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