Antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in the United States outpatient setting

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) are common in the outpatient setting. Although they are predominantly viral, antibiotics are often prescribed for the treatment of ARIs. METHODS: Using the U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS; 2010–2015), we estimated the national prevalence and predictors of outpatient antibiotic prescribing for ARIs by provider type. We categorized the trends of antibiotic prescriptions (overall or broad-spectrum) for ARIs by provider type (physician and advanced practice provider [APP] which includes nurse practitioner [NP], and physician assistant [PA]). The outcome variable was defined as receipt of an antibiotic prescription during a consultation with a provider for an ARI (including outpatient clinic visit or doctor’s office visit). RESULTS: There were 64,081,892 ARI antibiotic prescriptions written, with a decrease from 10.9 (2010) to 9.7 million (2015) during the study interval (p < 0.0001). Associations of patient- and provider-level variables with antibiotics prescription were examined using binary logistic regression. Blacks were more likely to receive antibiotics than whites (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.25, 1.84; p < 0.001), and antibiotic prescription was more likely if the patient-provider race was concordant (OR 5.41; 95% CI 4.65, 6.29, p < 0.0001). Although the majority of patients with ARI were cared for by physicians, APPs were seeing an increasing number of ARI patients. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic prescribing for ARIs though declining, remains high. More research is needed to better understand the drivers of ARI antibiotic prescribing and to develop targeted interventions for both patients and providers. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12875-019-0980-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.