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…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
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