Antibiotic prescribing in family medicine: a sentinel practice network study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v19i4.9954Keywords:
Antibiotics, Prescription, Therapy, Family Doctors, Sentinel Doctors NetworkAbstract
Objectives: To study the pattern of antibiotic (AB) use in general practice/family medicine. Methods: This study was conducted within the Portuguese Sentinel Doctors Network. This is an information system made up of a group of general practitioners/family doctors, which allows for population based estimates to be obtained, in that the composition of the patient roster of the participating physicians is known from the outset. Throughout the year 2001, AB prescribing was reported. Annual prescription rates (nANTI = number of prescriptions of antibiotics per 1000 individuals), and rates of episodes of illness with associated prescription (nEPI = number of episodes per 1000 individuals) were calculated. These indicators were broken up according to age, sex, and type of disease. Results: 12,184 prescriptions of ABs were analysed. These corresponded to 11,982 episodes of disease. The overall annual prescription rate was 93.2 prescriptions per 1000 individuals. Penicillins were the most frequently prescribed ABs (nANTI=44.2/1000), followed by macrolides (14.4/1000), and quinolones (14.2/1000). The highest rate was found in the less than 5 year age group (233.4/1000), progressively decreasing down to the 35-44 year age group (72.4/1000), and rising again in the older age groups. The age group distribution pattern was considerably diverse for quinolones and urinary antiseptics and antibiotics. Overall, gender differences were identified, with higher prescription rates for females (111.3/1000) comparatively to males (73.3/1000). This difference was found for all AB groups. Episodes of respiratory disease were the most frequent (nEPI=49.0/1000), followed by the urinary system (15.0/1000), skin (9.7/1000), ears (7.4/1000), and the gastrointestinal tract (6.8/1000). Discussion: The high number of prescriptions studied allowed for a reasonably detailed characterisation of antibiotic use. However, estimates may have biased in such a way that the above indicators may have been underestimated.Downloads
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