Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2002
Reducing antibiotic use for acute bronchitis in primary care: blinded, randomised controlled trial of patient information leaflet.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 62 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Impact of Four Patient Information Leaflets (PIL) on Patient Behaviour : a Randomised Controlled Trial in Primary Care.
Impact of Handing to Patients With Viral Gastroenteritis or Upper Respiratory Tract Infections a Copy of the Consultation Report on Their Medicine Consumption: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Impact of Six Patient Information Leaflets (PIL) on Doctor Patient Communication and Adherence in Emergency Ward
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 185 citations in OpenAlex.
- Can patient education initiatives in primary care increase patient knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use and decrease expectations for unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions?Family practice · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Engaging patients in de-implementation interventions to reduce low-value clinical care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2020Pooled it
- How best to use and evaluate Patient Information Leaflets given during a consultation: a systematic review of literature reviews.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2017Pooled it
- Antibiotics for acute bronchitis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Written information for patients (or parents of child patients) to reduce the use of antibiotics for acute upper respiratory tract infections in primary care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Patient information leaflets to reduce antibiotic use and reconsultation rates in general practice: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2015Pooled it
- Written information about individual medicines for consumers.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2009Pooled it
- Interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing practices in ambulatory care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2005Pooled it
- How long does a cough last? Comparing patients' expectations with data from a systematic review of the literature.Annals of family medicinePooled it
- The effects of communicating illness diagnostic and treatment information and C-reactive protein test results on people's antibiotic expectations.British journal of health psychology · 2025Trial
- Antibiotic effectiveness for children with lower respiratory infections: prospective cohort and trial in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Trial
- Antibiotics for lower respiratory tract infection in children presenting in primary care in England (ARTIC PC): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2021Trial
- Prospective randomised controlled trial of written supplement to verbal communication of results to patients at the time of flexible cystoscopy.World journal of urology · 2018Trial
- Qualitative interview study of antibiotics and self-management strategies for respiratory infections in primary care.BMJ open · 2017Trial
- One size does not fit all: evaluating an intervention to reduce antibiotic prescribing for acute bronchitis.BMC health services research · 2013Trial
- Long-term effects of an educational seminar on antibiotic prescribing by GPs: a randomised controlled trial.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2013Trial
- Impact of information leaflets on behavior of patients with gastroenteritis or tonsillitis: a cluster randomized trial in French primary care.Journal of general internal medicine · 2013Trial
- Trial
- Postdated versus usual delayed antibiotic prescriptions in primary care: Reduction in antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections?Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2010Trial
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess whether sharing the uncertainty of the value of antibiotics for acute bronchitis in the form of written and verbal advice affects the likelihood of patients taking antibiotics.
designNested, single blind, randomised controlled trial.
settingThree suburban general practices in Nottingham Participants: 259 previously well adults presenting with acute bronchitis.
interventionIn group A, 212 patients were judged by their general practitioner not to need antibiotics that day but were given a prescription to use if they got worse and standard verbal reassurance. Half of them (106) were also given an information leaflet. All patients in group B (47) were judged to need antibiotics and were given a prescription and encouraged to use it.
main outcome measuresAntibiotic use in the next two weeks. Reconsultation for the same symptoms in the next month.
resultsIn group A fewer patients who received the information leaflet took antibiotics compared with those who did not receive the leaflet (49 v 63, risk ratio 0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 0.97, P=0.04). Numbers reconsulting were similar (11 v 14). In group B, 44 patients took the antibiotics.
conclusionMost previously well adults with acute bronchitis were judged not to need antibiotics. Reassuring these patients and sharing the uncertainty about prescribing in a information leaflet supported by verbal advice is a safe strategy and reduces antibiotic use.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.