Table 2. The proportion of antibiotics prescription classified by antibiotic groups for pediatric outpatients with URI in Korea.
| Antibiotic classification | No. of antibiotic prescriptions (%) | Difference from 2009 to 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Absolute difference, % (95% CI) | Relative difference, % (95% CI) | |
| Total prescriptions with URI | 435,605 | 435,792 | 396,602 | ||
| Antibiotics prescription (Proportion of antibiotic prescription) | 263,635 (60.5) | 260,424 (59.8) | 219,696 (55.4) | -5.1 (-5.3 to -4.9) | -8.5 (-8.5 to -8.4) |
| Diagnosis (Proportion of antibiotic prescription) | |||||
| Antibiotics indicated* (Acute sinusitis [J01], Acute pharyngitis [J02], Acute tonsillitis [J03]) | 201,828 (68.9) | 197,742 (68.4) | 163,179 (64.2) | -4.7 (-4.9 to -4.4) | -6.8 (-6.8 to -6.7) |
| Antibiotics not indicated† | 61,807 (43.3) | 62,682 (42.8) | 56,517 (39.7) | -3.7 (-4 to -3.3) | -8.5 (-8.6 to -8.4) |
| Acute nasopharyngitis (common cold) (J00) | 9,337 (17.2) | 9,329 (16.0) | 9,335 (15.9) | -1.3 (-1.7 to -0.8) | -7.4 (-7.7 to -7.2) |
| Acute laryngitis and tracheitis (J04)/Acute obstructive laryngitis (croup) and epiglottitis (J05) | 26,270 (61.5) | 27,181 (60.6) | 25,237 (61.5) | 0.0 (-0.6 to 0.7) | 0.0 (0.0 to 0.0) |
| Acute upper respiratory infections of multiple and unspecified sites (J06) | 26,200 (30.5) | 26,172 (30.5) | 21,945 (27.8) | -2.7 (-3.1 to -2.2) | -8.7 (-8.9 to -8.5) |
| Class of antibiotics (proportion‡) | |||||
| Extended spectrum penicillins | 128,867 (48.9) | 127,443 (48.9) | 107,962 (49.1) | 0.3 (0.0 to 0.5) | 0.5 (0.5 to 0.5) |
| Second generation cephalosporins | 55,566 (21.1) | 53,995 (20.7) | 41,354 (18.8) | -2.3 (-2.5 to -2.0) | -10.7 (-10.8 to -10.5) |
| Macrolides | 38,423 (14.6) | 40,602 (15.6) | 37,144 (16.9) | 2.3 (2.1 to 2.5) | 16.0 (15.8 to 16.3) |
| First-line penicillins | 23,920 (9.1) | 24,274 (9.3) | 22,036 (10.0) | 1.0 (0.8 to 1.1) | 10.5 (10.3 to 10.8) |
| Third generation cephalosporins | 11,163 (4.2) | 13,090 (5.0) | 13,091 (6.0) | 1.7 (1.6 to 1.8) | 40.7 (39.7 to 41.8) |
| First generation cephalosporins | 9,928 (3.8) | 8,931 (3.4) | 6,585 (3.0) | -0.8 (-0.9 to -0.7) | -20.4 (-21.1 to -19.8) |
| Lincosamides | 3,470 (1.3) | 2,920 (1.1) | 1,700 (0.8) | -0.5 (-0.6 to -0.5) | -41.2 (-43.7 to -38.9) |
| Aminoglycosides | 3,420 (1.3) | 2,816 (1.1) | 1,785 (0.8) | -0.5 (-0.5 to -0.4) | -37.4 (-39.6 to -35.3) |
| Sulfonamides | 2,491 (0.9) | 2,663 (1.0) | 2,348 (1.1) | 0.1 (0.1 to 0.2) | 13.1 (12.4 to 13.9) |
| Fluoroquinolones | 1,864 (0.7) | 18 (0.0) | 5 (0.0) | -0.7 (-0.7 to -0.7) | -99.7 (-239.8 to -41.4) |
| Others | 302 (0.1) | 216 (0.1) | 216 (0.1) | 0.0 (0.0 to 0.0) | -14.2 (-16.9 to -11.9) |
*Diagnosis for which antibiotics are often indicated include acute sinusitis (J01), acute pharyngitis (J02), and acute tonsillitis (J03); †Diagnosis for which antibiotics are rarely indicated include acute nasopharyngitis (common cold) (J00), acute laryngitis and tracheitis (J04), acute obstructive laryngitis (croup) and epiglottitis (J05), and acute upper respiratory infections of multiple and unspecified sites (J06); ‡Proportion of each class of antibiotics in total antibiotics prescriptions with URI.