Table 1. Steroid use for ARTIs.
| Steroid use within 7 days | Steroid use within 3 days | |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of patients | 9,763,710 | 9,763,710 |
| Systemic steroids use, N patients | 1,154,378 | 1,092,626 |
| Prescribing rate, % (95% confidence interval) | 11.82 (11.80–11.84) | 11.19 (11.17–11.21) |
| Route of administration | ||
| Parenteral routes alone, N (%) | 532,142 (46.1) | 524,987 (48.0) |
| Oral route alone, N (%) | 545,487 (47.3) | 501,601 (45.9) |
| Oral + parenteral, N (%) | 76,749 (6.6) | 66,038 (6.0) |
| Daily dose in prednisone equivalents, N (%)* | ||
| <20 mg | 280,704 (45.5) | 255,971 (45.6) |
| 20–39 mg | 144,875 (23.5) | 131,962 (23.5) |
| ≥40 mg | 190,739 (30.9) | 173,995 (31.0) |
| Length of supply dispensed, N (%)* | ||
| ≤7 days | 522,192 (84.7) | 479,467 (85.3) |
| 8–29 days | 91,137 (14.8) | 79,964 (14.2) |
| ≥30 days | 2,989 (0.5) | 2,497 (0.4) |
*Percent among patients with “dose” and “length of supply dispensed” information.
Abbreviation: ARTI, acute respiratory tract infection