Use of Influenza Antiviral Agents by Ambulatory Care Clinicians During the 2012-2013 Influenza Season

Abstract

Antiviral treatment was prescribed infrequently among outpatients with influenza for whom therapy would be most beneficial; in contrast, antibiotic prescribing was more frequent. Continued efforts to educate clinicians on appropriate antibiotic and antiviral use are essential to improve healthcare quality.

Health Care Resource Utilization and Costs for Influenza-like Illness Among Midwestern Health Plan Members

“…5 Yet, a recent study claims that physicians often fail to prescribe antiviral therapy to patients diagnosed with influenza; instead, some of these physicians inappropriately prescribe antibiotics. 6 Not only could practices such as these leave patients managing their influenza symptoms for longer periods of time, but it could increase their chances of antibiotic-resistant infections in the future.…”

Severity of influenza and noninfluenza acute respiratory illness among pregnant women, 2010–2012

“…10,12 The reasons for this relatively low level of antiviral use probably include the fact that only 36% of women in our study sought medical care within 2 days after illness onset and within the ideal window for antiviral treatment. The lower use of antiviral medications in some integrated care systems 19 and the hesitancy of pregnant women to take medications in general 20 may have also contributed. ARI, acute respiratory illness; NS, not statistically significant.…”

“…Influenza severity in pregnant women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2015.Impact of influenza type/subtype on illness severity Women infected with influenza B viruses were more likely to have severe symptoms than either influenza A subtype (mean severity score,19.7 vs 17.4 for influenza A[H3N2] and 17.2 for influenza A[H1N1]pdm09). Although the severity of influenza B virus infections among adults is debated, 21 this finding differs from some published studies.…”

Oseltamivir Use Among Children and Adults Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

“…Other observational studies have also noted variability in antiviral prescribing across ambulatory and hospital sites [15, 23, 33]. This variation in influenza antiviral prescribing patterns between clinicians, and between hospitals, highlights the need for understanding the factors associated with this heterogeneity.…”