Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of preschool children prescribed antibiotics for an acute RTI in the CPRD searched from 2 January 2009 to 23 September 2016, N = 114 329
| Characteristic | n (%)a |
|---|---|
| Median age, years (IQR) | 2.39 (1.39–3.66) |
|
| |
| Sex, female | 54 379 (47.56) |
|
| |
| Seasonb | |
| Winter | 41 830 (36.59) |
| Spring | 30 110 (26.34) |
| Summer | 15 108 (13.21) |
| Autumn | 27 281 (23.86) |
|
| |
| RTI typec | |
| URTI | 16 048 (14.04) |
| LRTI | 68 634 (60.03) |
| AOM | 28 604 (25.02) |
| URTI and LRTI | 662 (0.58) |
| Other mix | 381 (0.33) |
|
| |
| Comorbidity | 6625 (5.79) |
|
| |
| Antibiotic class | |
| Cephalosporin | 847 (0.74) |
| Macrolides | 11 571 (10.12) |
| Broad-spectrum penicillin (amoxicillin, co-amoxiclav) | 87 723 (76.73) |
| Penicillinase-resistant (flucloxacillin) | 275 (0.24) |
| Penicillin V (phenoxymethylpenicillin) | 13 673 (11.96) |
| Quinolones | 7 (0.01) |
| Trimethoprim-cotrimoxazole | 233 (0.20) |
|
| |
| Vaccination status at index date (complete) | 43 401 (37.96) |
|
| |
| Vaccination status at end of study period (complete)d | 106 803 (93.42) |
|
| |
| Social deprivation quintilese | |
| 1 (least deprived) | 25 125 (21.99) |
| 2 | 23 021 (20.14) |
| 3 | 20 935 (18.32) |
| 4 | 23 186 (20.28) |
| 5 (most deprived) | 21 994 (19.24) |
| Not linked to IMD | 68 (0.06) |
|
| |
| Previous response failuresf in last 12 months | |
| None | 111 281 (97.33) |
| 1 | 3011 (2.63) |
| 2 | 37 (0.03) |
|
| |
| Median previous RTI consultations in last 12 months (IQR) | 4 (2–7) |
|
| |
| Number of children with an RTI-associated antibiotic prescription during the 12 months before the index antibiotic prescription (T0) | |
| None | 95 383 (83.43) |
| 1 | 14 929 (13.06) |
| ≥2 | 4017 (3.51) |
Unless specified otherwise.
Seasons: winter (December to February); spring (March to May); summer (June to August); autumn (September to November).
URTI: acute sinusitis, sore throat, laryngitis, coughs, for example; LRTI: pneumonia, bronchitis, for example; URTI and LRTI: a small proportion of children had both LRTI and URTI Read codes on the same consultation day.
Complete set of specific vaccinations completed by age 5 years.
Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile based on patient-linked IMD scores 2010.
Response failure was defined as the earliest occurrence of any of the following within 14 days of the index antibiotic prescription, unless specified otherwise: 1. Prescription of a subsequent antibiotic within 14 days of the initial antibiotic being prescribed to that child; 2. GP record of admission with an infection-related diagnostic code; 3. GP record of death with an infection-related diagnostic code; 4. GP record of referral to an infection-related specialist service; or 5. GP record of an emergency department visit within 3 days of antibiotic initiation. AOM = acute otitis media. CPRD = Clinical Practice Research Datalink. IQR = interquartile range. LRTI = lower respiratory tract infection. RTI = respiratory tract infection. URTI = upper respiratory tract infection.