scholarly journals Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna J Buehrle ◽  
M Hong Nguyen ◽  
Marilyn M Wagener ◽  
Cornelius J Clancy

Abstract In April 2020, there were significant reductions in prescription fills of each of the 10 most prescribed outpatient antibiotics in the United States. Monthly azithromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and levofloxacin fills did not rebound significantly from April through July 2020. Coronavirus disease 2019 had an immediate and sustained impact on US outpatient antibiotic prescribing.

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 584-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Durkin ◽  
S. Reza Jafarzadeh ◽  
Kevin Hsueh ◽  
Ya Haddy Sallah ◽  
Kiraat D. Munshi ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVETo characterize trends in outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the United StatesDESIGNRetrospective ecological and temporal trend study evaluating outpatient antibiotic prescriptions from 2013 to 2015SETTINGNational administrative claims data from a pharmacy benefits manager PARTICIPANTS. Prescription pharmacy beneficiaries from Express Scripts Holding CompanyMEASUREMENTSAnnual and seasonal percent change in antibiotic prescriptionsRESULTSApproximately 98 million outpatient antibiotic prescriptions were filled by 39 million insurance beneficiaries during the 3-year study period. The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were azithromycin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, ciprofloxacin, and cephalexin. No significant changes in individual or overall annual antibiotic prescribing rates were found during the study period. Significant seasonal variation was observed, with antibiotics being 42% more likely to be prescribed during February than September (peak-to-trough ratio [PTTR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39–1.61). Similar seasonal trends were found for azithromycin (PTTR, 2.46; 95% CI, 2.44–3.47), amoxicillin (PTTR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.42–1.89), and amoxicillin/clavulanate (PTTR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.68–2.29).CONCLUSIONSThis study demonstrates that annual national outpatient antibiotic prescribing practices remained unchanged during our study period. Furthermore, seasonal peaks in antibiotics generally used to treat viral upper respiratory tract infections remained unchanged during cold and influenza season. These results suggest that inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics remains widespread, despite the concurrent release of several guideline-based best practices intended to reduce inappropriate antibiotic consumption; however, further research linking national outpatient antibiotic prescriptions to associated medical conditions is needed to confirm these findings.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:584–589


Author(s):  
Wendy Thompson ◽  
Leanne Teoh ◽  
Colin C. Hubbard ◽  
Fawziah Marra ◽  
David M. Patrick ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Our objective was to compare patterns of dental antibiotic prescribing in Australia, England, and North America (United States and British Columbia, Canada). Design: Population-level analysis of antibiotic prescription. Setting: Outpatient prescribing by dentists in 2017. Participants: Patients receiving an antibiotic dispensed by an outpatient pharmacy. Methods: Prescription-based rates adjusted by population were compared overall and by antibiotic class. Contingency tables assessed differences in the proportion of antibiotic class by country. Results: In 2017, dentists in the United States had the highest antibiotic prescribing rate per 1,000 population and Australia had the lowest rate. The penicillin class, particularly amoxicillin, was the most frequently prescribed for all countries. The second most common agents prescribed were clindamycin in the United States and British Columbia (Canada) and metronidazole in Australia and England. Broad-spectrum agents, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and azithromycin were the highest in Australia and the United States, respectively. Conclusion: Extreme differences exist in antibiotics prescribed by dentists in Australia, England, the United States, and British Columbia. The United States had twice the antibiotic prescription rate of Australia and the most frequently prescribed antibiotic in the US was clindamycin. Significant opportunities exist for the global dental community to update their prescribing behavior relating to second-line agents for penicillin allergic patients and to contribute to international efforts addressing antibiotic resistance. Patient safety improvements will result from optimizing dental antibiotic prescribing, especially for antibiotics associated with resistance (broad-spectrum agents) or C. difficile (clindamycin). Dental antibiotic stewardship programs are urgently needed worldwide.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S720-S720
Author(s):  
Amy M Beeson ◽  
Grace E Marx ◽  
Amy M Schwartz ◽  
Alison F Hinckley

Abstract Background Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States and is a significant public health problem. The use of non-standard antibiotic treatment regimens for LD has been associated with adverse effects; however, the overall landscape of treatment has not been described previously. We aimed to describe real-world antibiotic prescribing patterns for LD. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the MarketScan commercial claims database of outpatient encounters from 2016-2018 in the United States. We identified all individuals with a visit that included an LD diagnosis code and a prescription within 30 days of the visit for one or more of 12 antibiotics that may be prescribed for LD. We then categorized each individual as having received either standard or non-standard treatment during the two-year period. Standard treatment was defined as treatment with a first, second or third-line antibiotic for LD, for no longer than 30 days, and for no more than two episodes during the study period. Descriptive and multivariable analyses were performed to compare characteristics of people who received standard vs non-standard treatment for LD. Results A total of 84,769 prescriptions met criteria for inclusion, written for 45,926 unique patients. The mean duration of prescriptions was 21.4 days (SD 10.8). Most individuals (84.5%) treated for LD received standard treatment during the study period. Female gender (OR 1.5, p< 0.0001) and age 19-45 (p=0.0003) were significantly associated with being prescribed non-standard LD treatment. Treatment in low-incidence states (OR 2.2 compared to high-incidence states, p< 0.0001) and during non-summer months (OR 2.2, p< 0.0001) was more likely to be non-standard. Age distribution of patients receiving treatment for Lyme disease, by gender and age at first prescription Seasonality of standard versus non-standard treatment of Lyme disease Conclusion In this population of employed, young, and insured patients, young and middle-aged women were at the highest risk of receiving non-standard LD treatment. Treatments prescribed in states with low incidence of LD or during non-summer months were also more likely to be non-standard, a trend which likely reflects misdiagnosis or overtreatment of LD. Future studies are needed to further define prescriber and patient factors associated with non-standard LD treatment and related adverse outcomes. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


Author(s):  
James St. Louis ◽  
Arinze Nkemdirim Okere

Abstract Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose To provide an overview of the impact of pharmacist interventions on antibiotic prescribing and the resultant clinical outcomes in an outpatient antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) in the United States. Methods Reports on studies of pharmacist-led ASP interventions implemented in US outpatient settings published from January 2000 to November 2020 and indexed in PubMed or Google Scholar were included. Additionally, studies documented at the ClinicalTrials.gov website were evaluated. Study selection was based on predetermined inclusion criteria; only randomized controlled trials, observational studies, nonrandomized controlled trials, and case-control studies conducted in outpatient settings in the United States were included. The primary outcome was the observed differences in antibiotic prescribing or clinical benefits between pharmacist-led ASP interventions and usual care. Results Of the 196 studies retrieved for full-text review, a cumulative total of 15 studies were included for final evaluation. Upon analysis, we observed that there was no consistent methodology in the implementation of ASPs and, in most cases, the outcome of interest varied. Nonetheless, there was a trend toward improvement in antibiotic prescribing with pharmacist interventions in ASPs compared with that under usual care (P < 0.05). However, the results of these studies are not easily generalizable. Conclusion Our findings suggest a need for a consistent approach for the practical application of outpatient pharmacist-led ASPs. Managed care organizations could play a significant role in ensuring the successful implementation of pharmacist-led ASPs in outpatient settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S826-S827
Author(s):  
Leigh Ellyn Preston ◽  
Clifford McDonald ◽  
Babatunde Olubajo ◽  
Natalie McCarthy ◽  
Sujan Reddy ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Community-onset urinary tract infections (coUTIs) are one of the most common indications for antibiotic prescribing. It is important to understand patient demographic factors associated with microorganisms causing coUTI and their antibiotic resistance profiles, to tailor antibiotic prescribing practices. We analyzed microbiology data to understand factors associated with coUTI in the United States (US). Methods CoUTIs were identified in the Premier Healthcare Database and Cerner Health Facts among patients treated at participating healthcare facilities in the US between 2012-2017. Cases were defined by urine cultures yielding a bacterial organism and were collected in outpatient settings or within three days of hospitalization. Only the first specimen for each encounter was included in the analysis. Data on the organisms isolated, patient’s age, sex, and US census regions of the submitting facilities were described and compared using chi-square tests for associations. Encounters were classified as inpatient (INPT), observation (OBS), emergency department (ED), and outpatient (OTPT) based on the setting in which the culture was submitted. Results Using data from 637 acute care hospitals, urine samples from 3,291,561 encounters were included, with 776,653 (25.7%) INPT, 1,063,219 (34.8%) ED, 107,760 (3.5%) OBS, and 1,092,658 (35.8%) OTPT. The pathogens most frequently associated with coUTIs were Escherichia coli (57.3%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.7%), Enterococcus faecalis (5.1%), Proteus mirabilis (4.9%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.9%). Female sex, age < 65y and OTPT and ED settings were associated with higher relative frequency of E. coli (all p < 0.0001). Male sex, INPT setting and age >65 y were associated with higher relative frequency of P. aeruginosa, P. mirabilis and E. faecalis (all p < 0.0001, Figure). K. pneumoniae was found at higher relative frequency in those >45y, and in INPT and OBS settings (all p < 0.0001). Figure. Distribution of pathogens most frequently associated with community onset urinary tract infections Conclusion Understanding patient factors associated with the microbiology of coUTIs is an important step in developing treatment recommendations and antibiotic stewardship efforts. Further analyses will include assessing the impact of major antibiotic resistance phenotypes, geographic and healthcare settings. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
S K Spangler ◽  
M R Jacobs ◽  
P C Appelbaum

Agar dilution MIC methodology was used to test the activities of GV 118819X (sanfetrinem), ampicillin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefpodoxime, loracarbef, levofloxacin, clarithromycin, ceftriaxone, imipenem, and vancomycin against 53 penicillin-susceptible, 84 penicillin-intermediate and 74 penicillin-resistant pneumococci isolated in the United States. GV 118819X was the most active oral beta-lactam, with MIC at which 50% of the isolates were inhibited (MIC50)/MIC90 values of 0.008/0.03, 0.06/0.5, and 0.5/1.0 micrograms/ml against penicillin-susceptible, -intermediate, and -resistant stains, respectively. Amoxicillin and amoxicillin in the presence of clavulanate (2:1) were the second most-active oral beta-lactams, followed by ampicillin and cefpodoxime; loracarbef was not active against penicillin-intermediate and -resistant strains. Clarithromycin was most active against penicillin-susceptible strains but was less active against intermediate and resistant stains. All pneumococcal stains were inhibited by ceftriaxone and imipenem at MICs of < or = 4.0 and < or = 1.0 micrograms/ml, respectively. The activities of levofloxacin and vancomycin were unaffected by penicillin susceptibility. Time-kill studies of three penicillin-susceptible, three penicillin-intermediate, and three penicillin-resistant pneumococci showed that all compounds, at the broth microdilution MIC, yielded 99.9% killing of all strains after 24 h. Kinetic patterns of all oral beta-lactams, ceftriaxone, and vancomycin were similar relative to the MIC, with 90% killing of all strains first observed after 12 h. However, killing by amoxicillin-clavulanate, imipenem, and levofloxacin was slightly faster and that by clarithromycin was slower than that by the above-described drugs. At 2 x the MIC, more strains were killed earlier than was the case at the MIC, but the pattern seen at the MIC prevailed. When MICs and kill kinetics were combined, sanfetrinem was the most active oral antipneumococcal agent in this study.


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 2651-2655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Jones ◽  
James A. Karlowsky ◽  
Renée Blosser-Middleton ◽  
Ian A. Critchley ◽  
Elena Karginova ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among 4,940 U.S. pneumococcal isolates collected during 1999 was as follows: penicillin, 16.2%; amoxicillin-clavulanate, 12.2%; cefuroxime, 28.1%; ceftriaxone, 3.6%; trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 30.3%; azithromycin, 21.4%; levofloxacin, 0.6%; and moxifloxacin, 0.1%. Compared to the previous 1997-1998 study (Jones et al., Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 44:2645-2652, 2000), increases were noted for resistance to penicillin (3.7%; P < 0.001), amoxicillin-clavulanate (3.9%; P < 0.001), cefuroxime (5.7%; P < 0.001), azithromycin (2.4%; P = 0.014), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (15.4%; P < 0.001), and levofloxacin (0.3%; P = 0.017). Resistance to ceftriaxone (0.1%; P = 0.809) and moxifloxacin (0.03%; P = 0.570) decreased. Concurrently, multidrug resistance increased (P < 0.001) from 6.3% to 11.3%.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S378-S378
Author(s):  
Michael A Pfaller ◽  
Rodrigo E Mendes ◽  
Leonard R Duncan ◽  
Robert K Flamm ◽  
Helio S Sader

Abstract Background Ceftaroline (CPT) is a broad-spectrum cephalosporin with activity against S. pneumoniae (SPN), including multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. CPT fosamil is approved for clinical use in the United States (US) to treat community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). The AWARE Program monitors the in vitro activity of CPT against clinical bacteria from various infection types. We evaluated the activity of CPT against isolated SPN clinical isolates from US hospitals collected in 2010 through 2016. Methods A total of 8,768 isolates were consecutively collected (1 per patient) from 47 medical centers in 2010–2016 and tested for susceptibility (S) to CPT and comparator agents using CLSI broth microdilution methods. Resistant subgroups included isolates that were nonsusceptible (NS) to penicillin (PCN), ceftriaxone (CRO), amoxicillin-clavulanate (AMC), erythromycin (ERY), clindamycin (CM), and levofloxacin (LEV) as well as MDR (NS to ≥3 classes of agents) and extensively drug resistant (XDR; NS to ≥5 classes). Results CPT inhibited 99.99% of SPN isolates at ≤0.5 mg/L (only 1 isolate had a CPT MIC of 1 mg/L) and remained active against all SPN-resistant (R) subgroups, including PCN-NS (8.7% at ≥4 mg/L), CRO-NS (6.9% at ≥2 mg/L), MDR (21.7%), and XDR (8.4%) strains. CPT activity remained stable against all R subgroups each year. MDR and XDR frequency decreased from 25.0% and 14.1% in 2011 to 17.8% and 3.2% in 2015, respectively; and S to PCN, CRO, AMC, CM, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMX), and tetracycline (TET) increased in the same period (Table). The CPT-NS isolate had multiple substitutions in the penicillin binding proteins (PBP), mainly PBP2x, when compared with reference sequences, and showed 31 amino acid alterations in MurM. For MDR isolates, CPT (99.9%S), tigecycline (99.9%S), linezolid (100.0%S), and vancomycin (100.0%S) were the most active agents. Conclusion CPT demonstrated potent and consistent (2010–2016) activity against SPN, including several R phenotypes and the less S serotypes. SPN S to many antibiotics increased from 2011 to 2015, but remained stable in 2015–2016. Increases in S rates could be related to the anti-pneumococcal vaccine PVC-13 introduced in 2010. Disclosures M. A. Pfaller, Allergan: Research Contractor, Research grant; R. E. Mendes, Allergan: Research Contractor, Research grant; L. R. Duncan, Allergan: Research Contractor, Research grant; R. K. Flamm, Allergan: Research Contractor, Research grant; H. S. Sader, Allergan: Research Contractor, Research grant


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S330-S330
Author(s):  
Jennifer P Collins ◽  
Louise Francois Watkins ◽  
Laura M King ◽  
Monina Bartoces ◽  
Katherine Fleming-Dutra ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a major cause of office and emergency department (ED) visits in the United States. Most patients can be managed with supportive care alone, although some require antibiotics. Limiting unnecessary antibiotic use can minimize side effects and the development of resistance. We used national data to assess antibiotic prescribing for AGE to target areas for stewardship efforts. Methods We used the 2006–2015 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of EDs and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to describe antibiotic prescribing for AGE. An AGE visit was defined as one with a new problem (&lt;3 months) as the main visit indication and an ICD-9 code for bacterial or viral gastrointestinal infection or AGE symptoms (nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea). We excluded visits with ICD-9 codes for Clostridium difficile or an infection usually requiring antibiotics (e.g., pneumonia). We calculated national annual percentage estimates based on weights of sampled visits and used an α level of 0.01, recommended for these data. Results Of the 12,191 sampled AGE visits, 13% (99% CI: 11–15%) resulted in antibiotic prescriptions, equating to an estimated 1.3 million AGE visits with antibiotic prescriptions annually. Antibiotics were more likely to be prescribed in office AGE visits (16%, 99% CI: 12–20%) compared with ED AGE visits (11%, 99% CI: 9–12%; P &lt; 0.01). Among AGE visits with antibiotic prescriptions, the most frequently prescribed were fluoroquinolones (29%, 99% CI: 21–36%), metronidazole (18%, 99% CI: 13–24%), and penicillins (18%, 99% CI: 11–24%). Antibiotics were prescribed for 25% (99% CI: 8–42%) of visits for bacterial AGE, 16% (99% CI: 12–21%) for diarrhea without nausea or vomiting, and 11% (99% CI: 8–15%) for nausea, vomiting, or both without diarrhea. Among AGE visits with fever (T ≥ 100.9oF) at the visit, 21% (99% CI: 11–31%) resulted in antibiotic prescriptions. Conclusion Patients treated for AGE in office settings were significantly more likely to receive prescriptions for antibiotics compared with those seen in an ED, despite likely lower acuity. Antibiotic prescribing was also high for visits for nausea or vomiting, conditions that usually do not require antibiotics. Antimicrobial stewardship for AGE is needed, especially in office settings. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


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