General internal medicine and family medicine physicians in outpatient settings significantly overprescribe antibiotics to patients with respiratory tract infections, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of more than 4,000 outpatient visits for patients who sought care for RTIs. They found that nearly half (45 percent) were inappropriately prescribed antibiotics in ambulatory care settings, despite many RTIs not requiring antibiotic interventions, a problem with serious consequences, according to lead study author Tamar Barlam, MD.
"Physicians' inappropriate prescribing patterns appeared to differ by medical specialty and to be established early, likely during medical school or residency," said Dr. Barlam. "Instituting aggressive interventions in training or practice at the right time and to the right physicians could improve antibiotic use and efficacy of antibiotic stewardship in outpatient settings."
The RTIs for which antibiotics were most commonly inappropriately prescribed include:
- Bronchitis (71 percent of patients received an antibiotics)
- Sore throat (50 percent)
- Nonspecific RTIs (28 percent)
Researchers also found inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics was more common in women than men and more common in white patients than black patients.
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