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News
A quality improvement program targeting antibiotic selection in pediatric urgent care had an unexpected bonus — it also nudged doctors toward shorter prescription durations. The initiative, spanning 92 centers across 22 states, saw prescriptions of seven days or fewer rise from 33.4% to 37.8%. Researchers call it a "spillover effect," suggesting stewardship efforts can improve multiple prescribing habits at once.
A national quality improvement collaborative aimed at reducing disparities in first-line antibiotic prescribing for children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) ended up doing more than it set out to do. Even though antibiotic duration wasn't a target of the initiative, researchers found that shorter prescriptions became more common across the 92 pediatric urgent care centers involved — a phenomenon they're calling a "spillover effect."
The study, led by Children's Mercy in Kansas City and published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, analyzed over 257,000 antibiotic encounters from April 2022 to September 2024. The biggest shift was seen in sinusitis cases, where short-course prescriptions jumped from 11.2% to 33.9%. Researchers believe the collaborative reinforced guideline awareness and fostered a culture of thoughtful prescribing that extended beyond its original scope.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Ten-day antibiotic courses remain common despite guidelines recommending 5–7 days for most childhood respiratory infections. This study suggests that well-designed stewardship programs can create ripple effects — improving prescribing practices beyond their intended targets and reducing unnecessary antibiotic exposure in kids.
