Antimicrobial Drug Prescribing for Pneumonia in Ambulatory Care

摘要

To determine patterns and predictors of antimicrobialdrug use for outpatients with community-acquired pneumo-nia, we examined office visit and pharmacy claims data of4 large third-party payer organizations from 2000 to 2002.After patients with coexisting conditions were excluded,4,538 patients were studied. Despite lack of coexisting con-ditions, fluoroquinolone use was commonly observedand increased significantly (p 65years (40%) (p < 0.001). Increased use of fluoroquinolonesoccurred in healthy young and old patients alike, whichsuggests a lack of selectivity in reserving fluoroquinolonesfor higher risk patients. Clear and consistent guidelines areneeded to address the role of fluoroquinolones in treatmentof outpatient community-acquired pneumonia