1. Prescribing patterns for upper respiratory tract infections: a prescription-review of primary care practice in Kedah, Malaysia, and the implications.
- Author
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Rezal RS, Hassali MA, Alrasheedy AA, Saleem F, Yusof FA, Kamal M, Mohd Din R, and Godman B
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Malaysia epidemiology, Male, Middle Aged, Primary Health Care methods, Primary Health Care standards, Respiratory Tract Infections diagnosis, Retrospective Studies, Young Adult, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Drug Prescriptions standards, Practice Patterns, Physicians' standards, Respiratory Tract Infections drug therapy, Respiratory Tract Infections epidemiology
- Abstract
Introduction and Aims: It is necessary to ascertain current prescribing of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) to address potential overuse. A retrospective analysis was conducted of all prescriptions for URTIs among 10 public primary healthcare centers in Kedah, Malaysia, from 1 January to 31 March 2014., Results: A total of 123,524 prescriptions were screened and analyzed. Of these, 7129 prescriptions were for URTI, with 31.8% (n = 2269) containing antibiotics. Macrolides were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic, constituting 61% (n = 1403) of total antibiotics prescribed. There was a statistically significant association between different prescribers and diagnoses (p = 0.001) and a weak positive trend suggesting family medicine specialists are more competent in antibiotic prescribing, followed by medical officers and assistant medical officers (τ = 0.122)., Conclusions: Prescribing practices of some prescribers were inconsistent with current guidelines encouraging resistance development. National antimicrobial stewardship programs and further educational initiatives are ongoing in Malaysia to improve antibiotic use.
- Published
- 2015
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