Sixty percent of children diagnosed with the flu aren't receiving antiviral medications, according to a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.
VUMC employees and University of Illinois Chicago researchers evaluated more than a million antiviral dispensings between 2010 and 2019 for patients younger than 18. For all pediatric age groups, antivirals for flu cases were underprescribed, and the undertreatment rate for children younger than 5 was the most severe, according to the study.
Overall, only about 40% of children were treated with an antiviral, such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), when clinical guidelines recommend 100% receive the medication.