Antibiotic prescribing for children with upper respiratory tract infection: a Finnish nationwide 7-year observational study.

ABSTRACT: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is a self-limiting viral infection and should not be treated with antibiotics. The aim was to evaluate antibiotic prescriptions for children with uncomplicated URTI in a large nationwide private clinic network between 2014 and 2020. Special focus was given to macrolide prescriptions and costs. The data were obtained from the electronic health records (EHR) of the largest private healthcare company in Finland (with about 250,000 paediatric visits annually across the country). The collected variables included diagnoses, age, visit year, speciality of the doctor, and prescribed antibiotics. The number of uncomplicated URTIs in < 18-year-old children was 156,187 (53.0% in boys). The prescription rate of antibiotics decreased from 18.0% in 2014 to 8.8% i

SUBMITTER: Korppi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9126572 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature