Antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections in Dutch primary care in relation to patient age and clinical entities

Objectives : To obtain detailed information on current prescribing rates of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in Dutch general practice and its relation with age and respiratory tract clinical entities. Methods : We assessed the mean proportion of antibiotics prescribed for RTIs per age group, contact-based and population-based using all patient contacts concerning RTIs in the year 2000 selected from the IPCI database, containing information on general practice consultations of 235 290 patients. Results : In one-third of all contacts concerning RTIs, antibiotics were prescrib... Mehr ...