1333 - A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Inappropriate Outpatient Antibiotic Use in Children Insured by Kentucky Medicaid

Background: Kentucky (KY) consistently has one of the highest rates of outpatient pediatric antibiotic prescribing in the nation. Previous analyses identified significant variation in volume of antibiotic prescribing by geographic location, patient demographics, and provider type, but less is known about the appropriateness of this prescribing. We describe appropriateness of outpatient antibiotic prescribing in children insured by KY Medicaid.

Methods: We utilized KY Medicaid pharmacy and medical claims from 2017 for children < 20 years. Patient demographic variables were abstracted from Medicaid enrollment data. Antibiotic prescriptions were identified by NDC and matched to medical claims within 3 days prior to fill date to identify corresponding diagnoses via ICD-10 codes. A previously published appropriateness classification scheme (Chua, BMJ 2019) was applied to categorize antibiotic prescriptions as “appropriate”, “potentially appropriate”, “inappropriate” or “not associated with indication”. 

Results: Of the 779,751 antibiotic prescriptions included, 19.5% were appropriate, 45.3% were potentially appropriate, 20.8% were inappropriate, and 14.4% were not associated with an indication (Table 1).  Inappropriate prescriptions were more common among children 0-2 years (24.4%) and those living in non-metro areas (22.2%). Antibiotics prescribed by general practitioners were also more likely to be inappropriate (22.2%). The most common diagnoses for each category are summarized in Table 2.  Amoxicillin was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic in all categories. Azithromycin was more frequently prescribed for inappropriate indications or those not associated with a diagnosis code. Cefdinir was more common for appropriate and potentially appropriate indications. Table 1: Antibiotic Prescription Characteristics, 2017
Table 2: Top Diagnoses for Antibiotic Prescriptions by Category


Conclusion: Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is more common among young children living in non-metro areas seen by general practitioners. Outpatient antibiotic stewardship interventions should target these patient demographics and provider types. This classification scheme to describe inappropriate prescribing is feasible for use in pediatric Medicaid patients and could serve as a valuable metric for provider feedback reports on antibiotic use.