Quality Improvement Program Aids Antibiotic Duration for Common Infections in Children
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 7, 2025 -- A quality improvement program can improve recommended antibiotic duration in children for both acute otitis media (AOM) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) across multiple care delivery settings, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, held from April 24 to 28 in Honolulu.
Elysha Pifko, M.D., from Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, and colleagues scaled a quality improvement initiative aimed at creating clinical pathways for treatment of AOM and CAP throughout a health care system that included two emergency departments, 67 primary care sites, and three urgent care sites in three states (26,896 patients).
The researchers reported that adherence to recommended antibiotic treatment duration for AOM and CAP combined increased from 51 to 83 percent, with no change in the proportion of patients requiring a second prescription. The goal of 80 percent was exceeded in the emergency department and primary care sites, with an upward trend in urgent care. For CAP, systemwide adherence to treatment duration increased from 39 to 72 percent and from 59 to 81 percent for AOM, with center-line shifts. For CAP (mean 7.6 days to six days) and AOM (mean 8.5 days to 6.8 days in patients 2 years and older), the average durations for prescribed antibiotics decreased.
"Scaling from one department to an entire health care system across the continuum proved to be an effective strategy," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted May 2025
Read this next
Racialized Economic Segregation Linked to Advanced Cancer Diagnosis
FRIDAY, Aug. 1, 2025 -- People living in racially and economically segregated neighborhoods are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage breast and cervical cancer...
New Subtype of Diabetes Identified in Sub-Saharan Africans, Black Americans
FRIDAY, Aug. 1, 2025 -- A new diabetes subtype has been identified in Sub-Saharan Africans and Black Americans, according to a study published online July 21 in The Lancet...
Changes in Missouri Law Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Screening Rates
THURSDAY, July 31, 2025 -- Changes in Missouri law expanding breast cancer screening coverage have led to increased screening rates among Medicaid patients and an increased...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.