Prescriptions for antibiotics that could be taken in advance to prevent against anthrax were uncommon among concerned patients after September 11, 2001 and the 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks, according to an article in the October 11 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine.
According to the article, nationwide, more than 10,000 affected workers and others were given 3.75 million prophylactic antibiotic pills through official dispensing campaigns between October 2001 and January 2002. However, media reports suggest that even more prescriptions were given out by individual physicians.
Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H., of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, N.Y., and colleagues reviewed the electronic medical records of outpatient telephone contacts and clinic visits at a large, primary care practice in New York City from September 11 to December 31, 2001 to identify factors associated with prescribing antibiotics to prevent anthrax.
There were 30,456 total patient visits (via phone or in person) between September 11 and December 21, 2001. Of these visits, 244 involved patient-initiated discussion about bioterrorism: 92 (0.6 percent) of 14,917 telephone contacts and 152 (1.0 percent) of 15,539 office visits. Average patient volume was higher from October to December in 2001 (221.2 patients per day) compared with the same time period in 2000 (199.1 patients per day).
Fifty patients (21 percent of the 244 who discussed bioterrorism with their physician) requested antibiotics or vaccines, and 52 patients (22 percent) received antibiotics: 39 received ciprofloxacin; 12 doxycycline; and 1 received both drugs.