TY - JOUR T1 - Antibiotic use in children with asthma JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/1393003.congress-2017.OA3449 VL - 50 IS - suppl 61 SP - OA3449 AU - Esmé Baan AU - Hettie Janssens AU - Tine Kerckaert AU - Johan De Jongste AU - Miriam Sturkenboom AU - Katia Verhamme Y1 - 2017/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/50/suppl_61/OA3449.abstract N2 - Background: Some reports indicate higher use of antibiotics in asthmatic than in non-asthmatic children, though antibiotics are not indicated as treatment for asthma exacerbations. Misuse of antibiotics increases microbial resistance.Aim: To compare antibiotic use in children with and without asthma in 2 countries.Methods: Patients aged 5-18 years were identified between 2000-2014 in population-based primary care databases in the Netherlands (IPCI) and UK (THIN). Asthma was based on the presence of an asthma disease code. In addition, a more strict definition was used: asthma disease code with use of ≥2 asthma drugs in 1 year. Prescriptions and related indications were retrieved from the electronic patient records.Results: The cohorts in IPCI and THIN consisted of respectively 1,008,746 and 6,166,117 patient years (PY). In both cohorts, children with asthma had a significantly (p<0.001) higher prevalence of antibiotic use (in IPCI: 178 vs 131 per 1,000 PY, in THIN: 380 vs 261 per 1,000 PY in children with and without asthma respectively). Use for indication of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) was higher in children with vs without asthma (IPCI: 28% vs 14%, in THIN: 25% vs 12%). Of these LRTI's the most common indication was bronchitis, for asthmatic children a substantial part of prescriptions for LRTI were linked to asthma exacerbation as only indication of use (IPCI: 38% in THIN: 14%). A strict definition of asthma increased the differences.Conclusion: In both countries, use of antibiotics was higher in children with asthma compared to children without asthma. A considerable part of these prescriptions are not in agreement with guidelines. International surveillance raises awareness and may help to limit microbial resistance. ER -