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Variation in antibiotic prescribing and its impact on recovery in patients with acute cough in primary care: prospective study in 13 countries.

ABSTRACT: To describe variation in antibiotic prescribing for acute cough in contrasting European settings and the impact on recovery.Cross sectional observational study with clinicians from 14 primary care research networks in 13 European countries who recorded symptoms on presentation and management. Patients followed up for 28 days with patient diaries.Primary care.Adults with a new or worsening cough or clinical presentation suggestive of lower respiratory tract infection.Prescribing of antibiotics by clinicians and total symptom severity scores over time.3402 patients were recruited (clinicians completed a case report form for 99% (3368) of participants and 80% (2714) returned a symptom diary). Mean symptom severity scores at presentation ranged from 19 (scale range 0 to 100) in networks based in Spain and Italy to 38 in the network based in Sweden. Antibiotic prescribing by networks ranged from 20% to nearly 90% (53% overall), with wide variation in classes of antibiotics prescribed. Amoxicillin was overall the most common antibiotic prescribed, but this ranged from 3% of antibiotics prescribed in the Norwegian network to 83% in the English network. While fluoroquinolones were not prescribed at all in three networks, they were prescribed for 18% in the Milan network. After adjustment for clinical presentation and demographics, considerable differences remained in antibiotic prescribing, ranging from Norway (odds ratio 0.18, 95% confidence interval 0.11 to 0.30) to Slovakia (11.2, 6.20 to 20.27) compared with the overall mean (proportion prescribed: 0.53). The rate of recovery was similar for patients who were and were not prescribed antibiotics (coefficient -0.01, P<0.01) once clinical presentation was taken into account.Variation in clinical presentation does not explain the considerable variation in antibiotic prescribing for acute cough in Europe. Variation in antibiotic prescribing is not associated with clinically important differences in recovery.Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00353951.

SUBMITTER: Butler CC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3272656 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Variation in antibiotic prescribing and its impact on recovery in patients with acute cough in primary care: prospective study in 13 countries.

Butler C C CC Hood K K Verheij T T Little P P Melbye H H Nuttall J J Kelly M J MJ Mölstad S S Godycki-Cwirko M M Almirall J J Torres A A Gillespie D D Rautakorpi U U Coenen S S Goossens H H

BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 20090623

<h4>Objective</h4>To describe variation in antibiotic prescribing for acute cough in contrasting European settings and the impact on recovery.<h4>Design</h4>Cross sectional observational study with clinicians from 14 primary care research networks in 13 European countries who recorded symptoms on presentation and management. Patients followed up for 28 days with patient diaries.<h4>Setting</h4>Primary care.<h4>Participants</h4>Adults with a new or worsening cough or clinical presentation suggest ...[more]

PMID: 19549995

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Project description:Acute cough is a common reason to prescribe antibiotics in primary care. This study aimed to explore help-seeking and antibiotic prescribing for acute cough in Chinese primary care population. This is a prospective multicentre observational study that included adults presenting with acute cough. Clinicians recorded patients' presenting symptoms, examination findings and medication prescription. Patients completed symptom diaries for up to 28 days by charting their symptom severity and recovery. Adjusted binary logistic regression models identified factors independently associated with antibiotic prescription. Primary care clinicians (n=19) recruited 455 patients. A total of 321 patients (70.5%) returned their completed symptom diaries. Concern about illness severity (41.6%) and obtaining a prescription for symptomatic medications (45.9%), rather than obtaining a prescription for antibiotics, were the main reasons for consulting. Antibiotics were prescribed for 6.8% (n=31) of patients, of which amoxicillin was the most common antimicrobial prescribed (61.3%), as it was associated with clinicians' perception of benefit from antibiotic treatment (odds ratio (OR): 25.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.7-101.1), patients' expectation for antibiotics (OR: 5.1, 95% CI: 1.7-11.6), anticipation (OR: 5.1, 95% CI: 1.6-15.0) and request for antibiotics (OR 15.7, 95% CI: 5.0-49.4), as well as the severity of respiratory symptoms (cough, sputum, short of breath and wheeze OR: 2.7-3.7, all P<0.05). There was a significant difference in antibiotic prescription rates between private primary care clinicians and public primary care clinicians (17.4 vs 1.6%, P=0.00). Symptomatic medication was prescribed in 98.0% of patients. Mean recovery was 9 days for cough and 10 days for all symptoms, which was not significantly associated with antibiotic treatment. Although overall antibiotic-prescribing rates were low, there was a higher rate of antibiotic prescribing among private primary care clinicians, which warrants further exploration and scope for education and intervention.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:The validated 'STARWAVe' (Short illness duration, Temperature, Age, Recession, Wheeze, Asthma, Vomiting) clinical prediction rule (CPR) uses seven variables to guide risk assessment and antimicrobial stewardship in children presenting with cough. We aimed to compare general practitioners' (GPs) risk assessments and prescribing decisions to those of STARWAVe and assess the influence of the CPR's clinical variables. SETTING:Primary care. PARTICIPANTS:252 GPs, currently practising in the UK. DESIGN:GPs were randomly assigned to view four (of a possible eight) clinical vignettes online. Each vignette depicted a child presenting with cough, who was described in terms of the seven STARWAVe variables. Systematically, we manipulated patient age (20 months vs 5 years), illness duration (3 vs 6 days), vomiting (present vs absent) and wheeze (present vs absent), holding the remaining STARWAVe variables constant. OUTCOME MEASURES:Per vignette, GPs assessed risk of hospitalisation and indicated whether they would prescribe antibiotics or not. RESULTS:GPs overestimated risk of hospitalisation in 9% of vignette presentations (88/1008) and underestimated it in 46% (459/1008). Despite underestimating risk, they overprescribed: 78% of prescriptions were unnecessary relative to GPs' own risk assessments (121/156), while 83% were unnecessary relative to STARWAVe risk assessments (130/156). All four of the manipulated variables influenced risk assessments, but only three influenced prescribing decisions: a shorter illness duration reduced prescribing odds (OR 0.14, 95%?CI 0.08 to 0.27, p<0.001), while vomiting and wheeze increased them (ORvomit 2.17, 95%?CI 1.32 to 3.57, p=0.002; ORwheeze 8.98, 95%?CI 4.99 to 16.15, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Relative to STARWAVe, GPs underestimated risk of hospitalisation, overprescribed and appeared to misinterpret illness duration (prescribing for longer rather than shorter illnesses). It is important to ascertain discrepancies between CPRs and current clinical practice. This has implications for the integration of CPRs into the electronic health record and the provision of intelligible explanations to decision-makers.

Project description:BackgroundInappropriate use of antibiotics promotes antibiotic resistance. Little is known about physician characteristics that may be associated with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Our objective was to assess whether physician knowledge, time in practice, place of training and practice volume explain the differences in antibiotic prescribing among physicians.MethodsA historical cohort of 852 primary care physicians in Quebec who became certified between 1990 and 1993 was followed for their first 6-9 years of practice (1990-1998). We evaluated whether inappropriate antibiotic prescribing had occurred during the study period (1990-1998) for viral (prescription of antibiotics) and bacterial (prescription of second-or third-line antibiotics given orally) infections. We used logistic regression to estimate the independent contributions of time in practice, practice volume, place of medical training and scores on licensure examinations. Physician sex and visit setting were controlled for, as were patient age, sex, education, income and geographic area of residence.ResultsA total of 104 230 patients who received a diagnosis of a viral infection and 65 304 who received a diagnosis of a bacterial infection were included in our study. International medical graduates were more likely than University of Montréal graduates to prescribe antibiotics for viral respiratory infections (risk ratio [RR] 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30-2.44). Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing increased with time in practice. Physicians with a high practice volume were more likely than those with low practice volume to prescribe antibiotics for viral respiratory infections (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09-1.48) and to prescribe second-and third-line antibiotics as first-line treatment (RR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06-1.37). Physician scores on licensure examinations were not predictive of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.InterpretationInternational medical graduates, physicians with high-volume practices and those who were in practice longer were more likely to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately. Developing effective interventions will require increased knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie these predictors of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

Project description:BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance is a worldwide challenge for health services and systems alike. To reduce the overuse of antibiotics, multifaceted interventions are often used to achieve sustainable effects. It can be assumed that these effects are influenced by contextual factors. Embedded in the cluster randomized trial ARena (Sustainable reduction of antibiotic-induced antimicrobial resistance), the aim of this present study was to identify contextual factors associated with practitioners' perceptions of antibiotic prescribing in German primary health care.MethodsIn a prospective observational study, data were generated in a three-wave survey study between January 2018 and July 2019. Analysis was performed using logistic regression models. The outcome of interest was the physician perceived impact of participating in the ARena project on decision-making regarding antibiotic prescribing, the independent variables of interest included individual characteristics, intervention arm allocation, primary care network (PCN) environment and characteristics of the medical practice.ResultsForty Six point eight percent (n = 126) of participants indicated to have perceived an impact on their decision-making regarding antibiotic prescribing by participating in the ARena project. Bivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that work experience (odds ratio (OR) 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.006-1.103), PCN environment (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.256-3.363), structural conditions (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.161-2.371), environment of existing processes (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.011-2.094), and externally defined general conditions (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.035-2.378) were associated with physicians' perceived impact of participating in the ARena project on decision-making regarding antibiotic prescribing. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, only work experience OR 1.05 (95% CI 1.001-1.104) continuously showed a significant influence.ConclusionsThis study indicates that contextual factors at individual, practice, and system level influence physicians' perceptions of antibiotic prescribing. Longer work experience appeared to be a significant influencing factor to be considered in antimicrobial stewardship programs.Trial registrationISRCTN, ISRCTN58150046 (registered 13.09.2017).

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Variation in antibiotic prescribing and its impact on recovery in patients with acute cough in primary care: prospective study in 13 countries.

Publications

Variation in antibiotic prescribing and its impact on recovery in patients with acute cough in primary care: prospective study in 13 countries.

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