Table 1

Differences in practices and beliefs by specialty


Pediatricians
Internists
P-value

N (%) 107
N (%) 103


Actions



Performs rapid testing
78 (73)
47 (46)
< 0.0001
Prescribes antiviral drugs
63 (59)
49 (48)
0.1007
Prescribes amantadine
56 (88)*
23 (48)*
< 0.0001
Prescribes oseltamivir
25 (41)*
25 (52)*
0.2282
Treats only high risk
54 (86)*
26 (53)*
0.0001




Beliefs



Shortens illness by 1 day
96 (90)
86 (84)
0.1847
Prevents complications
29 (27)
30 (29)
0.7443
Prevents hospitalization
53 (50)
39 (38)
0.0884
Decrease mortality
41 (38)
23 (22)
0.0119
None of the above
3 (3)
6 (6)
0.2798

*Denominator is total number of physicians in that specialty who prescribe antivirals.

Rothberg et al. BMC Pediatrics 2008 8:15   doi:10.1186/1471-2431-8-15