A study to be presented at the upcoming European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022) shows high rates of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for older Americans, Blacks, and Hispanics.

The observational study, led by a team from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, analyzed oral antibiotic prescribing data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2009 through 2016, a period that covered more than 7 billion patient visits to doctor's offices, urgent care clinics, and hospital emergency departments.

The researchers then determined whether that prescribing was appropriate based in ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis codes, and evaluated rates of overall and inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by race/ethnicity, age, and gender.