Carolina Pérez

C-reactive protein testing in patients with acute rhinosinusitis leads to a reduction in antibiotic use

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of C-reactive protein (CRP) testing on the antibiotic prescribing in patients with acute rhinosinusitis. METHODS Audit-based study carried out in primary care centres in Spain. GPs registered episodes of rhinosinusitis during 3-week period before and after an intervention. Two types of intervention were considered: full intervention group (FIG) consisting in individual feedback based on results from the first registry, courses in rational antibiotic prescribing, guidelines, patient information leaflets, workshops on rapid tests and use of the CRP test. GPs in the partial intervention group (PIG) underwent all the above intervention except for the workshop and they did not have access to CRP. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed considering the prescription of antibiotics as the dependent variable. RESULTS Two hundred and ten physicians were assigned to FIG and 71 to PIG. In 2009, 59 new physicians were included as a control group. Two hundred and sixty-seven GPs visited contacts with rhinosinusitis (78.5%) registering a total of 836 cases. In the group of GPs with access to CRP rapid test, 207 patients with rhinosinusitis (75.3%) were tested and antibiotics were prescribed in 156 patients (56.7%). Antibiotics were prescribed in 87 patients (82.9%) in the group of GPs exposed to PIG and in 52 patients (86.7%) in the control group (P < 0.001). Antibiotic prescription was significantly reduced after the intervention among physicians assigned to FIG, with an odds ratio of antibiotic prescribing of 0.12 (95% confidence interval: 0.01-0.32). CONCLUSION Physicians with access to CRP tests significantly reduced antibiotic prescription in patients with rhinosinusitis.

Interventions to reduce antibiotic prescription for lower respiratory tract infections: Happy Audit study

This before–after study aimed to evaluate the effect of two interventions on lowering the prescription of antibiotics in lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in Spain. General practitioners (GPs) registered all cases with LRTIs over 3-week periods before and after an intervention, in 2008 and 2009. Two types of intervention were considered: full-intervention group (FIG), consisting of discussion sessions of the results of the first registry, courses for GPs, guidelines, patient information leaflets, workshops on rapid tests and use of the C-reactive protein (CRP) test; GPs in the partial-intervention group (PIG) underwent all of the above interventions except for the workshop on rapid tests, and they did not have access to CRP. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed considering the prescription of an antibiotic as the dependent variable. 210 physicians were assigned to FIG and 70 to PIG. In 2009, 58 new physicians were included as a control group. 5,385 LRTIs were registered. Compared with the control group, the OR of antibiotic prescription after the intervention in the PIG was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.22–0.82) and 0.22 (95% CI: 0.12–0.38) in the FIG. Intervention led to a reduction in the prescription of antibiotics, mainly when CRP testing was available.

Effectiveness of two types of intervention on antibiotic prescribing in respiratory tract infections in Primary Care in Spain. Happy Audit Study

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of two types of intervention in reducing antibiotic prescribing in respiratory tract infections (RTI). Design Before–after audit-based study. Setting Primary Care centres in Spain. Participants General practitioners (GPs) registered all patients with RTIs for 15 days in winter 2008 (pre-intervention), and again in winter 2009 (post-intervention). Interventions Intervention activities included meetings, with the presentation and discussion of the results, and several training meetings on RTI guidelines, information brochures for patients, workshops on point-of-care tests – rapid antigen detection tests and C-reactive protein rapid test – and provision of these tests in the clinic. All GPs, with the exception of those in Catalonia, made up the full intervention group (FIG); conversely, Catalan doctors underwent the same intervention, except for the workshop on rapid tests (partial intervention group, PIG). Multilevel logistic regression was performed taking the prescription of antibiotics as the dependent variable. Results Out of a total of 309 GPs involved in the first register, 281 completed the intervention and the second register (90.9%), of which 210 were assigned to the FIG, and 71 to the PIG. The odds ratio of antibiotic prescribing after the intervention was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.89–1.10) among GPs assigned to PIG, and 0.50 (95% CI: 0.44–0.57, p < 0.001) among those who were allocated to FIG. The reduction in antibiotic prescribing in FIG was more marked in flu infection, common cold, acute pharyngitis, acute tonsillitis, and acute bronchitis. Conclusions Active participation of GPs with the performance of point-of-care tests in the clinic is accompanied by a drastic reduction of antibiotic use in RTIs, primarily in infections considered as mainly viral.

Effect of two interventions on reducing antibiotic prescription in pharyngitis in primary care

OBJECTIVES to evaluate the effect of two interventions on reducing antibiotic prescription in pharyngitis. METHODS a prospective, non-randomized, before-after controlled study was carried out in primary care centres throughout Spain. General practitioners (GPs) registered all cases of pharyngitis during a 3 week period before and after two types of intervention in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Full intervention consisted of discussion sessions of the results of the first registry, courses for GPs, guidelines, patient information leaflets, workshops on rapid tests and the use of rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs) in their consulting offices. The physicians in the partial intervention group underwent all the above intervention except for the workshop, and RADTs were not provided. A control group was also included in 2009. Multilevel logistic regression was performed considering the prescription of antibiotics as the dependent variable. RESULTS a total of 280 GPs registered cases with pharyngitis (70 partial intervention and 210 full intervention). Fifty-nine new physicians were included as a control group. A total of 6849 episodes of pharyngitis were registered. Antibiotic prescription was significantly lower after intervention for the full intervention group, but not for the partial intervention group. According to the multivariate model, in comparison with the control group, the odds ratio of antibiotic prescription after the intervention was 0.52 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.23-1.18] in the partial intervention group and 0.23 (95% CI 0.11-0.47) in the full intervention group. CONCLUSIONS intervention was beneficial for reducing the prescription of antibiotics, but was only statistically significant when the GPs were provided with RADTs.