The Impact of Clinical Pathways on Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Otitis Media and Pharyngitis in the Emergency Department

Although Italian pediatric antimicrobial prescription rates are among the highest in Europe, little action has been taken to improve the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescriptions. The primary aim of this study was to assess changes in antibiotic prescription before and after acute otitis media (AOM) and group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis Clinical Pathway (CP) implementation; secondary aims were to compare treatment failures and to assess change in the total antibiotics costs before and after CP implementation.