Objective: To investigate the use of antibacterial agents for emergency patients with acute upper respiratory infections in tertiary hospitals in Beijing.
Methods: We used the medical claim data for urban workers in 10 tertiary hospitals in Beijing from Oct. 2010 to Sep. 2012. Medical records of emergency patients with acute upper respiratory tract infections had been selected as the study sample. The proportions of antibacterial prescriptions and categories of antibacterial drugs were described and analyzed.
Results: This study included 135 979 visitors (male: 42.7%; mean age: 43.6 ± 16.2 years). The average antibacterial prescription rate was 71.2% (95%CI 71.0%-71.5%), of which the single kind use was 80.0% (95% CI 79.7%-80.2%). Among acute upper respiratory tract infections, the antibacterial prescription rate for acute tonsillitis visits was highest (85.1%, 95%CI 84.5%-85.6%), followed by acute laryngitis and bronchitis (81.69%, 95% CI 80.4%-82.8%), acute pharyngitis (81.4%, 95% CI 77.7%-85.0%), acute sinusitis (77.0%, 95% CI 74.6%-79.4%), acute nasopharyngitis (74.3%, 95% CI 73.7%-75.0%), and common cold (67.6%, 95% CI 67.3%-67.9%). Compared with the female group, the antibacterial prescription rate for the male was higher (73.2%, 95%CI 72.8%-73.6% vs. 69.7%, 95%CI 69.4%-70.0%). Compared with the <60 years age cases, the antibacterial prescription rate for the ≥ 60 years cases was higher (72.1%, 95% CI 71.8%-72.3% vs. 66.8%, 95% CI 66.2%-67.5%). In the visitors who used antibacterial drugs, the average percentage of injection use was 50.6% (95% CI 50.3%-50.9%). The top antibacterial drugs in the list of varieties were the second generation cephalosporins (28.4%), followed by the third generation cephalosporins (21.7%), fluoroquinolones (21.0%) and macrolides (17.6%).
Conclusion: The antibacterial prescription rate for acute upper respiratory tract infections in the general hospitals in Beijing is high, and the second generation cephalosporins, third generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and macrolides take the lead in the total antibacterial drugs.