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Antibiotics in the ED
Rebecca Voelker
JAMA. 2000;284:2048.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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Every year hundreds of thousands of emergency department (ED) patients in the United States receive inappropriate prescriptions for antibiotics to treat common colds and other viral infections, according to a new study.
The data, from the 1996 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, were published in the October Annals of Emergency Medicine. They show that of 2.7 million ED visits, one fourth of patients with colds or upper respiratory infections received a prescription for antibiotics, as did 40% of patients with acute bronchitis.
"At least 90% of colds, upper respiratory tract infections, and acute bronchitis are caused by viruses, rendering antibiotics inappropriate as treatment," said Susan Stone, MD, MPH, of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "Since inappropriate antibiotic use has been shown in multiple studies to contribute to the development of drug-resistant bacteria, emergency departments must curtail their use of this [type of] drug, unless absolutely . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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