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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses
11:17

Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses

Published on: August 30, 2018

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Pediatric Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns From Emergency Department Visits

Scott Gutovitz1, Sarah Astrab1, Hannah Chotiner2

  • 1Grand Strand Regional Medical Center (SG, SA, JB, SM, LJ, AC, SK), Myrtle Beach, SC.

The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics : JPPT : the Official Journal of PPAG
|April 15, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric emergency departments showed good adherence to antibiotic guidelines for respiratory and genitourinary infections between 2017-2022. Prescribing patterns improved, aligning with professional recommendations for pediatric infectious diseases.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Antimicrobial Stewardship

Background:

  • Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for pediatric respiratory and genitourinary infections in emergency departments (EDs).
  • Existing guidelines and antibiograms aim to optimize antibiotic selection, but provider adherence is not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the adherence of pediatric ED providers to established guidelines and antibiograms for antibiotic prescribing.
  • To assess trends in antibiotic use for pediatric respiratory and genitourinary infections over a six-year period.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of a national electronic medical record database from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2022.
  • Analysis included de-identified pediatric patients discharged from the ED with an antibiotic prescription.
  • Antibiotics and infections were categorized, and prescribing patterns were analyzed annually.

Main Results:

  • Over 85,000 pediatric patients and 24,000 antibiotic prescriptions were analyzed.
  • Penicillin-based antibiotics increased for respiratory infections (76.5% to 81.3%), while cephalosporins rose for genitourinary infections (62.7% to 73.9%).
  • Significant yearly increases in guideline-concordant prescribing were observed for both infection types (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric ED providers demonstrated fair adherence to antibiotic guidelines for respiratory tract infections.
  • Adherence to antibiogram-guided treatment for genitourinary tract infections improved significantly over the study period.
  • These findings suggest a positive trend towards appropriate antibiotic use in pediatric emergency care.
Abstract

Keywords:
emergency departmentpediatric antibioticspediatric prescriptionsprescription trends

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