Antimicrobial prescription practices for outpatients with acute respiratory tract infections: A retrospective, multicenter, medical record-based study.

ABSTRACT: Antimicrobial stewardship for outpatients with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) should be urgently promoted in this era of antimicrobial resistance. Previous large-sample studies were based on administrative data and had limited reliability. We aimed to identify current antimicrobial prescription practices for ARTIs by directly basing on medical records. This multicenter retrospective study was performed from January to December in 2018, at five medical institutes in Japan. We targeted outpatients aged ≥18 years whose medical records revealed International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes suggesting ARTIs. We divided the eligible cases into three age groups (18-64 years, 65-74 years, and ≥75 years). We defined broad-spectrum antimicrobials as third-generation cephalospor

SUBMITTER: Ishida T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8589193 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature