Table 2.
Excess Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Prescribing in Relation to Biomarker Cut Points Among Patients Without Proven Bacterial Infectionsa
| Biomarkers | Length of therapy (LOT) | Days of therapy (DOT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Period 1
LOT per 1000 patient-days |
Period 2
LOT per 1000 patient-days |
IRR (95% CI) |
Period 1
DOT per 1000 patient-days |
Period 2
DOT per 1000 patient-days |
IRR (95% CI) | |
| Either above cut point | 240.8 | 272.7 | 1.13 (0.80–1.60) | 371.2 | 450.0 | 1.21 (0.92–1.59) |
| Both below cut points (low-risk) | 196.8 | 103.9 | 0.53 (0.30–0.93) | 301.2 | 129.9 | 0.43 (0.26–0.71) |
| Biomarkers not measured | 238.6 | 214.6 | 0.90 (0.67–1.21) | 385.8 | 323.9 | 0.84 (0.66–1.07) |
| All episodes without proven bacterial infection | 232.6 | 207.7 | 0.89 (0.73–1.09) | 370.1 | 320.5 | 0.87 (0.71–1.06) |
Abbreviations: DOT, days of therapy; LOT, length of therapy.
aLow-risk cut-points defined as C-reactive protein <4 mg/dL and procalcitonin <1 ng/mL.