OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions in children with acute pharyngotonsillitis. METHODS: A descriptive study was performed in a series of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute pharyngotonsillitis in the emergency rooms of 11 Spanish hospitals. The appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions was assessed by comparing our clinical practice in the use of antibiotics for pharyngotonsillitis with consensus guidelines developed for this study. RESULTS: We collected data from 1716 patients with acute pharyngotonsillitis. Antibiotics were prescribed in 80.9 %, mainly according to empirical criteria. The most commonly used antibiotics were amoxicillin (36 %), amoxicillin-clavulanate (22.5 %), cefixime (6.6 %), azithromycin (5.8 %) and cefuroxime (5.2 %). A total of 39.5 % of the patients were aged less than 3 years, of which 75.9 % were treated empirically. Of the prescribed treatments, 22.8 % were considered as the treatment of choice; 22.4 % as alternatives and 54.8 % as inappropriate. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic treatment was prescribed in most of the cases of pharyngotonsillitis and nearly always according to empirical criteria. The number of antibiotic prescriptions was far higher than the expected cases of bacterial pharyngotonsillitis and, in many cases, the antibiotic prescriptions were inappropriate.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions in children with acute pharyngotonsillitis. METHODS: A descriptive study was performed in a series of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute pharyngotonsillitis in the emergency rooms of 11 Spanish hospitals. The appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions was assessed by comparing our clinical practice in the use of antibiotics for pharyngotonsillitis with consensus guidelines developed for this study. RESULTS: We collected data from 1716 patients with acute pharyngotonsillitis. Antibiotics were prescribed in 80.9 %, mainly according to empirical criteria. The most commonly used antibiotics were amoxicillin (36 %), amoxicillin-clavulanate (22.5 %), cefixime (6.6 %), azithromycin (5.8 %) and cefuroxime (5.2 %). A total of 39.5 % of the patients were aged less than 3 years, of which 75.9 % were treated empirically. Of the prescribed treatments, 22.8 % were considered as the treatment of choice; 22.4 % as alternatives and 54.8 % as inappropriate. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic treatment was prescribed in most of the cases of pharyngotonsillitis and nearly always according to empirical criteria. The number of antibiotic prescriptions was far higher than the expected cases of bacterial pharyngotonsillitis and, in many cases, the antibiotic prescriptions were inappropriate.
Authors: H Seppälä; T Klaukka; J Vuopio-Varkila; A Muotiala; H Helenius; K Lager; P Huovinen Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 1997-08-14 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Carolina Giraldez-Garcia; Beltran Rubio; Jose F Gallegos-Braun; Iñaki Imaz; Jesus Gonzalez-Enriquez; Antonio Sarria-Santamera Journal: Eur J Pediatr Date: 2011-02-11 Impact factor: 3.183
Authors: R Piñeiro Pérez; F Hijano Bandera; F Alvez González; A Fernández Landaluce; J C Silva Rico; C Pérez Cánovas; C Calvo Rey; M J Cilleruelo Ortega Journal: An Pediatr (Barc) Date: 2011-09-14 Impact factor: 1.500