Researchers performed two complementary studies in 31 primary care practices in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s network, between January 2015 and April 2016. They used EHR data for approximately 30,000 patients, infants up till age 12, and found 14 percent received broad-spectrum antibiotics and 86 percent received narrow-spectrum antibiotics.
The children studied suffered from acute otitis media, Group A streptococcal pharyngitis and sinusitis.
Researchers found a significantly higher risk of adverse events associated with broad-spectrum antibiotics compared to narrow-spectrum antibiotics — 3.7 percent versus 2.7 percent as documented by clinicians. They did not find a significant difference in rates of treatment failure between the two types of antibiotics.
“Many children unnecessarily receive broad-spectrum antibiotics for common infections, which can lead to antibiotic resistance and unnecessary side effects,” said lead study author Jeffrey Gerber, MD, PhD, associate director for inpatient research activities in the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness at CHOP.
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