The Trend of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections and Antibiotic Prescription Rates in Outpatient Settings using Health Insurance Data

OBJECTIVE: A significant concern has been raised about the emerging resistance that is largely caused by the excessive or inappropriate use of antibacterial agents for viral respiratory infections. This study investigated the trend of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and the use of antibiotics. METHODS: Utilizing the national level health insurance claims data from 2005 to 2008, we examined encounter days, antibiotic use, and the prescription rate for respiratory tract infections including upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and otitis media in outpatient settings. The antibiotic use was measured as defined daily dose per 1,000 patients per day (DDD/1,000 patients/day). RESULTS: The visit for URTI increased from 141,693,465 in 2005 to 120,717,966 in 2008 and the visit for LRTI decreased from 61,778,718 to 66,930,122. For RTIs, prescription rates of antibiotics decreased from 65.2% to 58.5% for URTIs and 76.9% to 68.3% for LRTIs from 2005 to 2008. The antibiotic use decreased to 20.85 DDD/1,000 patients/day after a significant increase of 22.01 DDD/1,000 patients/day in 2006. Among antibiotics, J01CR had the highest use- 7.93 DDD/1,000 patients/day followed by J01DC of 3.71 DDD/1,000 patients/day and J01FA of 3.2 DDD/1,000 patients/day. One notable trend is that J01FA presented a continuous increase in antibiotic use from 2.3 in 2005 to 3.26 DDD/1,000 patients/day in 2008. CONCLUSION: The use of antibiotics had poor compliance to guidelines for RTIs. Despite decrease in the use of antibiotics, prescription rates for URTIs were still about 50% indicating that the delayed prescribing antibiotics (or wait-and-see) were not observed.

Adequacy of Lipid Emulsion Administration Prescription Rate in a Single Center

PURPOSE: IV-lipid emulsion can be a nutritional supplement to provide essential fatty acids and energy for patients who need total parenteral nutrition support. The recommended administration dose of lipid emulsion is less than 2.5 g/kg/d and the rate should not exceed 0.15 g/kg/h for adult patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the adequacy of the currently prescribed administration rate of IV-lipid emulsion in a single center. METHODS: We analyzed 1,739 lipid emulsion administration prescriptions in 1,095 patients over 18 years old at Ajou University Hospital from January 1, 2014 to March 31. RESULTS: The median prescription rate of total lipid emulsion was 0.134 (0.012~1.125) g/kg/h, and the exceeding portion of maximum recommended infusion rate was 36.9%. The median administration prescription rate of lipid emulsion was faster in 500 mL emulsions, compared to 250 mL emulsion (0.146 g/kg/h vs. 0.075 g/kg/h; P<0.001) and at emergency room (ER), compared to general ward (0.154 g/kg/h vs. 0.123; P<0.001). The exceeding portion of maximum recommended infusion rate of lipid emulsion was also higher in 500 mL emulsion, compared to 250 mL emulsion (52.2% vs. 30.4%; P<0.001) and at ER, compared to general ward (52.1% vs. 30.4%; P<0.001). Triglyceride level was higher in exceeding recommended infusion rate compared to less, but not statistically significant (119 mg/dL vs. 261 mg/dL; P=0.202). CONCLUSION: Administration prescription rate of lipid emulsion exceeded the recommended rate and this feature was dominant in 500 mL emulsion and at ER. Education and monitoring of lipid emulsion prescription is needed for appropriate lipid administration and prevention of fat overload syndrome.

Drug prescription rates in dental health services / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the misuse and abuse of antibiotics in relation to the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of patients given prescriptions by dental providers. METHODS: We examined data collected in 2011 by the Korea Health Panel from 3,836 dental visits. The data included multiple visits per individual for 3,738 household members of 2,588 households using outpatient dental services. The data were analyzed by dental service provider type, using four types of beta-regression. Model analysis and comparison were performed using Akaike's information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) to select the best model. RESULTS: Prescription rates according to type of dental service provider are as follows: 18% by dental hospitals and 19%-20% by dental clinics. The patient factors contributing to the prescription rate are gender, age, education, and income level. Higher antibiotics exposure was found in patients who were male, older, with less education, and lower incomes. Patient exposure to antibiotics did not significantly differ between dental hospitals and dental clinics. CONCLUSIONS: When prescribing antibiotics in dental practices, patient safety can be improved by reducing misuse and abuse of antibiotics through consideration of individual patient characteristics.