JAC Advance Access published online on July 28, 2004
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi:10.1093/jac/dkh374
© 2004 by The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
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1 Centre for General Practice, University of Antwerp, BE 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: samuel.coenen{at}ua.ac.be.
Objectives: To assess the effect of a tailored professional intervention, including academic detailing, on antibiotic prescribing for acute cough. Methods: In a cluster-randomized controlled before and after study 85 Flemish GPs included adult patients with acute cough consulting in the periods February-April 2000 and 2001. The intervention consisted of a clinical practice guideline for acute cough, an educational outreach visit and a postal reminder to support its implementation in January 2001. Antibiotic prescribing rates and patients' symptom resolution were the main outcome measures. Results: Thirty-six of 42 GPs received the intervention and 35 of 43 GPs served as controls; 1503 patients were eligible for analysis. Only in the intervention group were patients less likely to receive antibiotics after the intervention [ORadj (95% CI)=0.56 (0.36-0.87)]. Prescribed antibiotics were also more in line with the guideline in the intervention group [1.90 (0.96-3.75)] and less expensive from the perspective of the National Sickness and Invalidity Insurance Institute {MDadj (95% CI)=- Conclusions: An (inter)actively delivered tailored intervention implementing a guideline for acute cough is successful in optimizing antibiotic prescribing without affecting patients' symptom resolution. Further research efforts should be devoted to cost-effectiveness studies of such interventions.
Revised May 3, 2004
Accepted June 25, 2004
Original article
Optimizing antibiotic prescribing for acute cough in general practice: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
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Abstract
6.89 [-11.77-(-2.02)]}. No significant differences were found between the groups for the time to symptom resolution.![]()
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