Early-career general practitioners’ antibiotic prescribing for acute infections: a systematic review

Abstract

Background Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide threat, exacerbated by inappropriate prescribing. Most antibiotic prescribing occurs in primary care. Early-career GPs are important for the future of antibiotic prescribing and curbing antimicrobial resistance. Objectives To determine antibiotic prescribing patterns by early-career GPs for common acute infections. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase and Scopus. Two authors independently screened abstracts and full texts for inclusion. Primary outcomes were antibiotic prescribing rates for common acute infections by GPs with experience of 10 years or less. Secondary outcomes were any associations between working experience and antibiotic prescribing. Results Of 1483 records retrieved, we identified 41 relevant studies. Early-career GPs were less likely to prescribe antibiotics compared with their more experienced colleagues (OR range 0.23–0.67). Their antibiotic prescribing rates for ‘any respiratory condition’ ranged from 14.6% to 52%, and for upper respiratory tract infections from 13.5% to 33%. Prescribing for acute bronchitis varied by country, from 15.9% in Sweden to 26% in the USA and 63%–73% in Australia. Condition-specific data for all other included acute infections, such as sinusitis and acute otitis media, were limited to the Australian context. Conclusions Early-career GPs prescribe fewer antibiotics than later-career GPs. However, there are still significant improvements to be made for common acute conditions, as their prescribing is higher than recommended benchmarks. Addressing antimicrobial resistance requires an ongoing worldwide effort and early-career GPs should be the target for long-term change.

Burden of antimicrobial prescribing in primary care attributable to sore throat: a retrospective cohort study of patient record data

“…A cohort study of GP trainees in 2010 – 2012 reported less antibiotic prescribing for sore throat for those aged over 50 years (7.4%). [ 16 ] This could in part be due to differences in prescribing practices by seniority [ 24 ], which could not be assessed in this study as GP level data was not available, although it is likely a range of career stages are represented in our data. These contrasting results highlight the diversity of antibiotic prescribing practices in primary care.…”