Novel outpatient antibiotic prescribing report of respiratory infections in a pediatric health system's emergency departments and urgent care clinics

We developed a report of overall antibiotic use for respiratory infections in pediatric emergency departments and urgent care clinics. Antibiotics were used in 5.3% of diagnoses where antibiotics are not recommended, and first-line guideline-concordant antibiotics were used in 87% of diagnoses where antibiotics are recommended. Outpatient antibiotic stewardship efforts need to target site and diagnosis-specific challenges. (C) 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The report highlighted the overall antibiotic use for respiratory infections in pediatric emergency departments and urgent care clinics, showing that antibiotics were used in 5.3% of diagnoses where antibiotics are not recommended, and first-line guideline-concordant antibiotics were used in 87% of diagnoses where antibiotics are recommended. It emphasizes the need for outpatient antibiotic stewardship efforts to address site and diagnosis-specific challenges.