Researchers examined how antibiotic prescribing for outpatients with acute respiratory tract infections changed after implementing an antimicrobial stewardship program. Eighteen pediatric primary care practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including a total of 162 clinicians, participated.
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The program included a one-hour on-site clinician education session in June 2010 followed by a year of quarterly audits and feedback on prescribing for bacterial and viral ARTIs. The rate of broad-spectrum, or off-guideline, antibiotic prescribing decreased 46.6 percent, from 26.8 percent before the intervention to 14.3 percent a year after.
Among control practices, which did not implement the program, the rate of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing decreased 20.4 percent, from 28.4 percent to 22.6 percent — less than half the percent change of the intervention group.
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