Antibiotic prescribing for children in general practice and adherence to treatment guidelines

Ivanovska, Verica and Hek, Karin and Leufkens, Hubert and Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje and van Dijk, Liset (2015) Antibiotic prescribing for children in general practice and adherence to treatment guidelines. In: 31st International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management, 22-26 August 2015, Boston, USA. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Introduction
Over 80% of antibiotics are prescribed in primary care, mainly for viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children. This irrational antibiotic use contributes to antimicrobial resistance, adverse drug reactions and increased healthcare costs.
Study objectives
Our study explores antibiotic prescribing patterns for fever, ear and respiratory infections in Dutch children in 2012. We aim to determine guideline adherence in antibiotic prescribing for specific pediatric RTIs and choice of antibiotics. We also intend to examine potential variations in guideline adherence among family practices and different age groups.
Methods
We used NIVEL Primary Care Database, which collects data from routine electronic health records from Dutch general practices.
Results
14,388 children from 101 practices received antibiotic prescription and/or reported ICPCs of interest. Antibiotic rates were >50% for pneumonia, strep throat, tonsillitis. But, 40% of acute bronchitis and 10% of fever cases got antibiotic, even though its use is not recommended. Recommended first line antibiotics were prescribed for 85% of AOM, 75% for sinusitis and 60% of pneumonia cases. Adherence to prescribing first line (narrow spectrum penicillins) was lowest for strep throat and tonsillitis.
Conclusions
This study reports relatively low antibiotic use for pediatric fever, ear and RTIs in the Netherlands, with some variations across practices. Two aspects for concerns for non-adherence are: antibiotic treatment of certain viral infections not in line with guidelines, and use of broader spectrum antibiotics for strep throat and tonsillitis.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Subjects: Medical and Health Sciences > Health sciences
Divisions: Faculty of Medical Science
Depositing User: Verica Ivanovska
Date Deposited: 18 Apr 2017 13:07
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2018 08:09
URI: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/17707

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