Patient profile and antibiotic use in a dedicated upper respiratory tract infection clinic based in a primary healthcare setting during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: A cross sectional study
Introduction: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is commonly encountered at the primary care level. Its management is particularly challenging due to the similarity of its symptoms to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Our study evaluated the profiles and antibiotic use of patients...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Malaysian Family Physician |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://e-mfp.org/wp-content/uploads/v17n3-OA-Patient-profile-and-antibiotic-use.pdf |
| Summary: | Introduction: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is commonly encountered at the primary care level. Its management is particularly challenging due to the similarity of its symptoms to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Our study evaluated the profiles and antibiotic use of patients seeking care from a dedicated community-based URTI clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were obtained from the medical records of patients visiting the URTI clinic at the Alor Setar Primary Healthcare Centre between March and April 2020.
Results: Overall, 587/4388 (13.3%) patients received treatment at the URTI clinic. Most patients were male (60.6%) and aged between 20 and 39 years (35.5%). Their most common symptoms were cough (68.4%), fever (31.6%), runny nose (24.6%), and sore throat (24.1%). Most patients were diagnosed with acute nasopharyngitis (52.5%), acute pharyngitis (18.6%), or acute tonsillitis (5.3%). The symptomatic medication prescription rate was 96.5%. Only 26 of the 435 patients diagnosed with URTI received antibiotics, yielding an antibiotic use rate of only 6.0% for URTI relative to overall drug use. Acute tonsillitis was more common in children <12 years old (p<0.001), while a cough and runny nose were more commonly indicative of acute nasopharyngitis than other conditions (p<0.001). Sore throat was more likely to be a symptom of acute pharyngitis (p<0.001) and acute tonsillitis (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Despite the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings suggest that patients with URTI-like symptoms were properly managed, and the rate of antibiotic usage remained reasonable. |
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| ISSN: | 1985-207X 1985-2274 |