Table 1.
Characteristics of patients to whom antibiotics were prescribed in the ED
| Patient characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Total number of patient presentations seen in ED during study period | 7497 |
| Total patient presentations involving antibiotics, n (%) | 1019 (13.6) |
| Total number of antibiotics prescribed | 1670 |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 41.3 (±25.4) |
| Gender, n (%) | |
| male | 527 (51.7) |
| female | 492 (48.3) |
| Antibiotics <24 h prior to ED presentation, n (%) | |
| yes | 201 (19.7) |
| no | 818 (80.3) |
| Documented antibiotic ADR, n (%) | |
| yes | 126 (12.4) |
| no | 893 (87.6) |
| Disposition, n (%) | |
| discharged home from ED | 324 (31.8) |
| ED short-stay unit | 204 (20.0) |
| admitted to hospital ward | 472 (46.3) |
| operating theatre | 9 (0.9) |
| admitted to ICU | 10 (1.0) |
| Patients prescribed antibiotic(s), n (%) | |
| in the ED ± discharge script | 778 (76.3) |
| on discharge script only | 241 (23.7) |
| Discussed with infectious disease or microbiology team, n (%) | |
| yes | 5 (0.5) |
| no | 1014 (99.5) |
| SIRS criteria meta? n/N (%) | |
| yes | 200/678 (29.5) |
| no | 478/678 (70.5) |
| qSOFA criteria meta? n/N (%) | |
| yes | 32/678 (4.7) |
| no | 646/678 (95.3) |
ADR, adverse drug reaction.
a
SIRS and qSOFA criteria were only applied to patients over the age of 18 years who were prescribed antibiotics to treat presumed infection.