Continued high rates of antibiotic prescribing to adults with respiratory tract infection: survey of 568 UK general practices.
BMJ Open
; 4(10): e006245, 2014 Oct 27.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25348424
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Overutilisation of antibiotics may contribute to the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance, a growing international concern. This study aimed to analyse the performance of UK general practices with respect to antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) among young and middle-aged adults.SETTING:
Data are reported for 568 UK general practices contributing to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.PARTICIPANTS:
Participants were adults aged 18-59 years. Consultations were identified for acute upper RTIs including colds, cough, otitis-media, rhino-sinusitis and sore throat. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMEMEASURES:
For each consultation, we identified whether an antibiotic was prescribed. The proportion of RTI consultations with antibiotics prescribed was estimated.RESULTS:
There were 568 general practices analysed. The median general practice prescribed antibiotics at 54% of RTI consultations. At the highest prescribing 10% of practices, antibiotics were prescribed at 69% of RTI consultations. At the lowest prescribing 10% of practices, antibiotics were prescribed at 39% RTI consultations. The median practice prescribed antibiotics at 38% of consultations for 'colds and upper RTIs', 48% for 'cough and bronchitis', 60% for 'sore throat', 60% for 'otitis-media' and 91% for 'rhino-sinusitis'. The highest prescribing 10% of practices issued antibiotic prescriptions at 72% of consultations for 'colds', 67% for 'cough', 78% for 'sore throat', 90% for 'otitis-media' and 100% for 'rhino-sinusitis'.CONCLUSIONS:
Most UK general practices prescribe antibiotics to young and middle-aged adults with respiratory infections at rates that are considerably in excess of what is clinically justified. This will fuel antibiotic resistance.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecções Respiratórias
/
Padrões de Prática Médica
/
Prescrição Inadequada
/
Medicina Geral
/
Antibacterianos
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMJ Open
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido