Recent trends in prescribing antibiotics for acute tonsillitis in pediatric ambulatory care in Taiwan, 2000-2009: A nationwide population-based study.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Acute tonsillitis is the leading diagnosis in pediatric ambulatory care, and group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus is the main reason for antibiotic prescriptions in patients with acute tonsillitis. The aim of this study was to analyze trends in prescribing antibiotics and to investigate the prescription patterns for acute tonsillitis in pediatric ambulatory care in Taiwan from 2000 to 2009. METHODS: Data on children younger than 18 years with a primary diagnosis of acute tonsillitis were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from 2000 to 2009. Concomitant bacterial infections were excluded. Sex, age, seasonality, location, level of medical institution, and physician specialty were analyzed. Annual and monthly changes in antibiotic prescriptions and classification were also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 40,775 cases were enrolled, with an overall antibiotic prescription rate of 16.8%. There was a remarkable decline in the antibiotic prescription rates for tonsillitis from 28.4% in 2000 to 10.9% in 2009. Factors associated with a higher prescription rate included older age, visits from eastern Taiwan, medical centers, and nonpediatrician physicians. Otolaryngologists had higher antibiotic prescription rate, whereas pediatricians had the lowest (21.9% vs. 11.6%). The rates of obtaining throat cultures were low although the culture performing rate in the medical centers was significantly higher (12.3%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: From 2000 to 2009, there was a remarkable decline in the antibiotic prescription rates for tonsillitis. Further studies to evaluate diagnostic tools such as rapid antigen detection tests or throat cultures to decrease antibiotic prescriptions are warranted.

Clinical analysis of fever of unknown origin in children: A 10-year experience in a northern Taiwan medical center.

BACKGROUND: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) was first described in 1961 as fever >38.3°C for at least 3 weeks with no apparent source after 1 week of investigations in the hospital. Infectious disease comprises the majority of cases (40-60%). There is no related research on FUO in children in Taiwan. The aim of this study is to determine the etiologies of FUO in children in Taiwan and to evaluate the relationship between the diagnosis and patient's demography and laboratory data. METHODS: Children under 18 years old with fever >38.3°C for >2 weeks without apparent source after preliminary investigations at Taipei Veterans General Hospital during 2002-2012 were included. Fever duration, symptoms and signs, laboratory examinations, and final diagnosis were recorded. The distribution of etiologies and age, fever duration, laboratory examinations, and associated symptoms and signs were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 126 children were enrolled; 60 were girls and 66 were boys. The mean age was 6.7 years old. Infection accounted for 27.0% of cases, followed by undiagnosed cases (23.8%), miscellaneous etiologies (19.8%), malignancies (16.6%), and autoimmune disorders (12.7%). Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were the most commonly found pathogens for infectious disease, and Kawasaki disease (KD) was the top cause of miscellaneous diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Infectious disease remains the most common etiology. Careful history taking and physical examination are most crucial for making the diagnosis. Conservative treatment may be enough for most children with FUO, except for those suffering from malignancies.

Recent trends in antibiotic prescriptions for acute respiratory tract infections in pediatric ambulatory care in Taiwan, 2000-2009: A nationwide population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance is a global problem, and the inappropriate overuse of antibiotics is the major cause. Among children seeking medical help, acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are the most common tentative diagnosis made by physicians and the leading condition for which antibiotics are prescribed. This study aimed to examine the trends of prescribing antibiotics in pediatric ambulatory care in Taiwan over a 10-year period. METHODS: Children younger than 18 years old and being diagnosed as having ARTIs [International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 460, 465, and 466] during ambulatory visits from 2000 to 2009 were retrieved from the systematic random sampling datasets of the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan. The annual and monthly case numbers were recorded and the children's demographic characteristics, including sex, age, seasonality, location, level of medical institution, physician specialty, and their ambulatory prescriptions of antibiotics were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Among 565,065 enrolled ambulatory children, 39,324 were prescribed antibiotics. The average antibiotics prescription rate was 7.0% during the 10-year period. There were marked descending trends in case numbers and antibiotic dispensing rates from 2000 to 2009. Female patients, elder ages (≥6 years old), summer and autumn, middle and southern areas of Taiwan, medical centers and regional hospitals, and physicians of pediatric specialty were associated with significantly lower antibiotic dispensing rates than other conditions (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The 10-year antibiotics prescription rate in ambulatory children with ARTIs was 7.0% and it decreased gradually from 2000 to 2009 in Taiwan. Through understanding the annual trends in antibiotic prescriptions, it may be possible to design interventions to improve the judicious use of antibiotics in children.