Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic
<p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the serious health problems in Pakistan. Excessive use of antibiotics during pandemics has aggravated AMR; hence, rational use in the future is even more important to consider and implement. Clin...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Discover STM Publishing Ltd
2022-06-01
|
| Series: | BioMedica |
| Online Access: | https://biomedicapk.com/10.51441/BioMedica/5-660 |
| _version_ | 1797629464987828224 |
|---|---|
| author | Babra Naveed Khadija Amna Arif Hina Jawaid Zia-ul-Hassan |
| author_facet | Babra Naveed Khadija Amna Arif Hina Jawaid Zia-ul-Hassan |
| author_sort | Babra Naveed |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the serious health problems in Pakistan. Excessive use of antibiotics during pandemics has aggravated AMR; hence, rational use in the future is even more important to consider and implement. Clinical audits on antibiotic prescribing in general practice can help improve antimicrobial stewardship. This study was designed as an audit to evaluate if the antibiotics prescribed for Streptococcus pharyngitis at a sub-urban primary care center in Pakistan were in line with the standard and latest guidelines.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> A retrospective audit was carried out at the primary care center located at Nainsukh, Lahore, Pakistan during 1 month period. Both adult and pediatric patients (above 3 years of age) presenting with upper respiratory tract infections were included in the study. A total of 48 consultation cards were identified using International Classification of Diseases 10 coding. The antibiotic prescribing practice of primary care physicians was evaluated against the Modified Centor Criteria (MCC) which was used as a standard. A score of ≤3 required no antibiotic whereas a score of ≥ 3 needed a same-day antibiotic prescription for sore throat.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> There were 28 (58.3%) patients presenting with MCC of ≤3 and were not given antibiotics. Antibiotic prescriptions issued on the day of presentation were n = 20; however, only n = 7 (35%) met the standard criteria, i.e., MCC score of ≥3 and among these patients, penicillin remained the first choice with 71% patients receiving amoxicillin, while 28% received co-amoxiclav.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Antibiotic stewardship is lacking among general physicians working at the sub-urban primary health care center in Lahore city. Clinical audits, as a part of clinical governance, may help improving the quality of care provided to the community by the regional primary health care physicians.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:53:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fcf4cbd4f9074d2d97dc605d524d72c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2710-3471 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:53:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Discover STM Publishing Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BioMedica |
| spelling | doaj.art-fcf4cbd4f9074d2d97dc605d524d72c82023-11-13T13:59:20ZengDiscover STM Publishing LtdBioMedica2710-34712022-06-01382949810.51441/BioMedica/5-660Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinicBabra Naveed0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1218-2484Khadija Amna Arif1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3485-4736Hina Jawaid2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3429-150XZia-ul-Hassan3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1479-4027Department of Family Medicine, Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine & Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan.Department of Family Medicine, Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine & Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan.Department of Family Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.Department of Family Medicine, Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine & Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan.<p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the serious health problems in Pakistan. Excessive use of antibiotics during pandemics has aggravated AMR; hence, rational use in the future is even more important to consider and implement. Clinical audits on antibiotic prescribing in general practice can help improve antimicrobial stewardship. This study was designed as an audit to evaluate if the antibiotics prescribed for Streptococcus pharyngitis at a sub-urban primary care center in Pakistan were in line with the standard and latest guidelines.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> A retrospective audit was carried out at the primary care center located at Nainsukh, Lahore, Pakistan during 1 month period. Both adult and pediatric patients (above 3 years of age) presenting with upper respiratory tract infections were included in the study. A total of 48 consultation cards were identified using International Classification of Diseases 10 coding. The antibiotic prescribing practice of primary care physicians was evaluated against the Modified Centor Criteria (MCC) which was used as a standard. A score of ≤3 required no antibiotic whereas a score of ≥ 3 needed a same-day antibiotic prescription for sore throat.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> There were 28 (58.3%) patients presenting with MCC of ≤3 and were not given antibiotics. Antibiotic prescriptions issued on the day of presentation were n = 20; however, only n = 7 (35%) met the standard criteria, i.e., MCC score of ≥3 and among these patients, penicillin remained the first choice with 71% patients receiving amoxicillin, while 28% received co-amoxiclav.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Antibiotic stewardship is lacking among general physicians working at the sub-urban primary health care center in Lahore city. Clinical audits, as a part of clinical governance, may help improving the quality of care provided to the community by the regional primary health care physicians.</p>https://biomedicapk.com/10.51441/BioMedica/5-660 |
| spellingShingle | Babra Naveed Khadija Amna Arif Hina Jawaid Zia-ul-Hassan Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic BioMedica |
| title | Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic |
| title_full | Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic |
| title_fullStr | Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic |
| title_short | Antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub-urban primary care clinic |
| title_sort | antibiotics prescribing practices for sore throat in a sub urban primary care clinic |
| url | https://biomedicapk.com/10.51441/BioMedica/5-660 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT babranaveed antibioticsprescribingpracticesforsorethroatinasuburbanprimarycareclinic AT khadijaamnaarif antibioticsprescribingpracticesforsorethroatinasuburbanprimarycareclinic AT hinajawaid antibioticsprescribingpracticesforsorethroatinasuburbanprimarycareclinic AT ziaulhassan antibioticsprescribingpracticesforsorethroatinasuburbanprimarycareclinic |