Prevalence of Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions Among US Ambulatory Care Visits, 2010-2011

Abstract

Antibiotic-resistant infections affect 2 million people and are associated with 23 000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).¹ Antibiotic use is the primary driver of antibiotic resistance¹ and leads to adverse events ranging from allergic reactions to Clostridium difficile infections.² Data from other developed nations suggest that 80% or more of antibiotic use (excluding agricultural use) occurs among outpatients.³ In the United States in 2011, 262 million outpatient antibiotic prescriptions were dispensed.⁴ Declining trends in antibiotic prescribing in the United States occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s but stabilized by 2010.^5,6