Antibiotics appear to be over-prescribed in the ED for cases of acute bronchitis, according to a study from researchers at the University of California, San Diego. The investigators found that antibiotics were prescribed in 74.0% of acute bronchitis cases, 77.2% of which involved a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Patients aged 50 or older and smokers were significantly more likely to be prescribed an antibiotic when compared with others. Among study participants without asthma, 49.9% were discharged without a bronchodilator and 91.1% without a spacer device.
Abstract: Journal of Emergency Medicine, August 2012.
