Trends in broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing for children with acute otitis media in the United States, 1998–2004

Table 1 Types of antibiotics prescribed for children with acute otitis media in United States physician's offices, hospital outpatient departments and emergency departments 1998 to 2004 (N = 6878)

Antibiotic	Number of Visits	% of Visits
Narrow-spectrum agents
Amoxicillin	3880*	56
Other narrow-spectrum agents	448^†	7
Total	4328	63
Broad-spectrum agents
Cephalosporins	1076	16
Amoxicillin/clavulanate	848	12
Macrolides	841	12
Quinolones	74	1
Total	2839^‡	41
All antibiotics	7167	104^§

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval.
*Includes 129 visits in which both amoxicillin and a broad-spectrum agent were prescribed.
^†Includes 26 visits in which both another narrow-spectrum agent and a broad-spectrum and were prescribed.
^‡Two broad-spectrum agents were prescribed in 120 visits.
^§More than one antibiotic was prescribed in 4% (285/6878) of visits.

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