Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections in general practice:Comparison between Denmark and Iceland

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
• Main Authors: Sigurðardóttir, Nanna Rún, Nielsen, Anni Brit Sternhagen, Munck, Anders, Bjerrum, Lars
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/TheFacultyOfHealthScience; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences; General Practice; Upper respiratory tract infections; Antibiotics; Diagnostic criteria; Iceland; Denmark
• Online Access: https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/appropriateness-of-antibiotic-prescribing-for-upper-respiratory-tract-infections-in-general-practice(6463f3d4-c93e-4ce5-b5c0-1de2fa959298).html; https://doi.org/10.3109/02813432.2015.1114349

Objective. To compare the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in two countries with different prevalence of antimicrobial resistance: Denmark and Iceland. Design. A cross-sectional study. Settings & subjects: General practitioners (GPs) in Denmark (n=78) and Iceland (n=21) registered all patients with URTI according to the Audit Project Odense (APO) method during a three-week period in the winter months of 2008 and 2009. Main outcome measures. Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in patients with URTI in Denmark and Iceland. Results. A total of 1,428 patients were registered, (Denmark: n=1,208; Iceland: n=220). A majority of patients in both countries were prescribed antibiotics, and only a minority of the prescriptions could be classified as appropriate prescribing. In general, Icelandic GPs more often prescribed antibiotics (Iceland=75.8% vs. Denmark=59.3%), but Danish GPs had the highest percentage of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. The different antibiotic prescribing patterns between Denmark and Iceland could not fully be explained by different symptoms and signs among patients. Conclusion. Icelandic GPs have a higher antibiotic prescribing rate compared with Danish GPs, but the percentage of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is highest in Denmark. Objective: To compare the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in two countries with different prevalence of antimicrobial resistance: Denmark and Iceland. Design: A cross-sectional study. Settings and subjects. General practitioners (GPs) in Denmark (n = 78) and Iceland (n = 21) registered all patients with URTI according to the Audit Project Odense (APO) method during a three-week period in the winter months of 2008 and 2009. Main outcome measures: Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in patients with URTI in Denmark and Iceland. Results: A total of 1428 patients were registered (Denmark: n = 1208; Iceland: n = 220). A majority of ...