Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotic courses of seven or fewer days, according to the study. Researchers studied antibiotic treatment course decisions for adults aged 66 years or older in 630 long-term care facilities in Ontario, Canada, in 2010.
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While seven days was most often chosen as the antibiotic treatment course length, 44.9 percent of antibiotic treatment courses exceeded seven days. Of the physicians who prescribed 20 or more antibiotic treatment courses, the median proportion of treatment courses exceeding seven days was 43.5 percent. Additionally, 21 percent of physicians prescribed more courses beyond seven days than was expected. The difference in antibiotic prescribing patterns was primarily due to physician preference, and not patient characteristics, according to the study.
The authors suggested future studies should examine how antibiotic stewardship interventions targeting physician preference can reduce antibiotic overuse.
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