Prescribing systemic steroids for acute respiratory tract infections in United States outpatient settings: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence and guidelines do not support use of systemic steroids for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs), but such practice appears common. We aim to quantify such use and determine its predictors.

Methods and findings

We conducted a cohort study based on a large United States national commercial claims database, the IBM MarketScan, to identify patients aged 18-64 years with an ARTI diagnosis (acute bronchitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, otitis media, allergic rhinitis, influenza, pneumonia, and unspecified upper respiratory infections) recorded in ambulatory visits from 2007 to 2016. We excluded those with systemic steroid use in the prior year and an extensive list of steroid-indicated conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and v

SUBMITTER: Lin KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7108689 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature