Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
The most recent articles from:
Acad Emerg Med
-
To examine antibiotic prescribing trends for U.S. emergency department (ED) visits with upper respiratory tract infections (URIs) between 1993 and 2004. ⋯ Antibiotic prescribing for URIs continues to decrease, a favorable trend that suggests that national efforts to reduce inappropriate antibiotic usage are having some success. Nevertheless, the frequency of antibiotic treatment for URI in the ED remains high (35%). Future efforts to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing may focus on patients and physicians in southern U.S. EDs. Additional work is needed to address continued evidence of race-related disparities in care.