Outpatient antibiotic prescribing in the United States: 2000 to 2010

Table 2 Broad-spectrum prescribing for ARTIs, 2000 and 2010

Antibiotic prescription rates (per 1,000 antibiotic prescriptions)^a,b	2000	2010	Risk ratio (95% CI)
United States population	289	675	2.34 (2.03 to 2.68)
Children and adolescents (<18)	273	436	1.81 (1.56 to 2.09)
0 to 4	314	466	1.48 (1.28 to 1.71)
5 to 17	237	516	2.18 (1.87 to 2.54)
Adults (18 to 64)	287	796	2.77 (2.42 to 3.17)
18 to 49	274	766	2.80 (2.45 to 3.21)
50 to 64	339	871	2.57 (2.27 to 2.91)
Older adults (≥65)	457	1030	2.25 (2.02 to 2.52)
65 to 79	464	950	2.05 (1.83 to 2.28)
≥80	423	1416	3.35 (3.00 to 3.73)

^aBroad-spectrum antibiotics are defined per the National Committee for Quality Assurance which includes azithromycin, clarithromycin, fluoroquinolones, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and second- and third-generation cephalosporins; ^bARTI visits were outpatient visits with one or more of the following ICD-9-CM codes: bronchitis, 466 and 490; pharyngitis, 034, 462 and 463; sinusitis, 461 and 473; acute nasopharyngitis and upper respiratory tract infection, 460 and 465; and influenza, 480, 487 and 488. ARTIs, acute respiratory tract infections; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.

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