are there differences in urban vs. suburban settings?
OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequencies with which suburban and urban parents give their children antibiotics without first consulting a physician. METHODS: This was a prospective, comparative survey of a suburban emergency department (ED) patient population in New Jersey with an annual patient census of 60,000 visits and an urban ED in Connecticut with 58,000 annual visits. A convenience sample of parents with children <18 years of age were enrolled. Patients who were critically ill and/or not oriented were excluded. Subjects provided written answers to a series of closed questions regarding their knowledge and use of antibiotics for their children over the previous 12 months. Categorical data were analyzed by chi-square and Fisher's exact test; continuous data were analyzed by t-tests. All tests were two-tailed with alpha set at 0.05. The primary endpoint, antibiotic "misuse," was defined as parental administration of antibiotics to a child during the previous 12 months without the con
