AHRQ Study: Antibiotic Prescriptions Given for Patient-Reported Symptoms, Not Infection Diagnosis

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40867935/ Patient-reported symptoms were the most common reason providers prescribed antibiotics without a patient visit or an infection diagnosis documented in the patient’s electronic health record, according to an AHRQ-funded study in Antibiotics. The study noted that among all ambulatory antibiotic prescriptions, 20 percent are not given during a doctor visit and 30 percent are not associated with an infection-related diagnosis code, so researchers wanted to learn why. The study reviewed 47,619 oral antibiotic prescriptions issued in a large U.S. Midwestern health system during a four-month period, and researchers randomly selected 2,298 prescriptions from the 2,608 that had no documented infection diagnosis and that were not given during a patient visit. Patient-reported symptoms were the most common documented reason for 71 percent of those prescriptions. Other documented reasons included symptom persistence, patient travel plans, and a response to a lab result. Sixty-two clinicians who did not document reasons told researchers the antibiotics were for patient travel, the prescriber’s family member, or an undocumented diagnosis. Researchers indicated that the findings highlighted gaps in documentation and opportunities to strengthen outpatient antibiotic stewardship.