Background: The dangers of overuse of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections (URIs) has been
widely recognized, but the rate of change in prescribing patterns in recent years is unknown.
Methods: Data on the use of antibiotics for URIs was extracted from the 1997 to 1999 National Ambulatory
Medical Care Survey (a national multistage probability sample survey of patients’ office visits to
office-based physicians). Adult patients (>18 years) with a primary diagnosis of URI (bronchitis, common
colds, and other acute upper respiratory infections) were included. The decision to prescribe antibiotics
was modeled as a function of patient, physician, and practice characteristics using logistic
regression.
Results: The rate of antibiotic prescription for URIs decreased from 52.1% in 1997 to 41.5% in
1999. In a multivariate logistic regression model, treatment by general internal medicine physicians
[odds ratio (OR), 0.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.18 to 0.76] was associated with lower prescription
rates. Of patients visiting general internal medicine physicians for URIs, 36.2% received antibiotics
compared with 42.9% of those seeing a general/family medicine physician. Patients treated by their primary
care physicians had a higher risk of receiving antibiotics (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.68).
Conclusions: Despite a downward trend in antibiotic prescribing over the years, overprescription of
antibiotics for upper respiratory infections persists. General internal medicine physicians are less likely
than general/family physicians to prescribe antibiotics, but this gap seems to be narrowing. Specific
interventions must be designed to address these disparities. (J Am Board Fam Pract 2004;17:196–200