Antibiotic use and class absenteeism in children with influenza-like-illness in an emergency department.

Child care centers and schools sometimes exclude children with influenza-like-illness (ILI) from class until cleared to return by a clinician and/or prescribed antibiotics. This study addresses these social drivers of overprescribing. Antibiotics were prescribed in 26% of children with ILI discharged from a large Emergency Department in the US. Antibiotic use was not significantly associated with class absenteeism or illness duration. This study can serve as a discussion point for clinicians when navigating parental or social pressures to prescribe antibiotics for uncomplicated acute respiratory tract infections, particularly when these pressures are influenced by concerns about returning to class.