SynthesisBMJ open2015
Patient information leaflets to reduce antibiotic use and reconsultation rates in general practice: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 58 papers, 6 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.
Optimizing Management and Medication of Febrile Children in Out-of-hours Primary Care: the CHILI Cluster Randomised Trial
CRP and Patient Information Leaflets to Optimise Antibiotic Treatments for Adults With Respiratory Tract Infections in Primary Care in Kyrgyzstan
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 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
- Effectiveness of safety-netting approaches for acutely ill children: a network meta-analysis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Physicians' Information Giving on Patient Outcomes: a Systematic Review.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Clinician-targeted interventions to influence antibiotic prescribing behaviour for acute respiratory infections in primary care: an overview of systematic reviews.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled 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
- 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
- Trial
- Trial
- Implementation fidelity in a multifaceted program to foster rational antibiotics use in primary care: an observational study.BMC medical research methodology · 2022Trial
- French general practitioners' and patients' acceptability of a public commitment charter and patient information leaflets targeting unnecessary antibiotic use: a qualitative study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2022Trial
- Improving patient self-reporting of antihypertensive adverse drug events in primary care: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial.BMC family practice · 2021Trial
- Randomised controlled trial of an intervention to improve parental knowledge and management practices of fever.BMC pediatrics · 2019Trial
- Booklet for Childhood Fever in Out-of-Hours Primary Care: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.Annals of family medicine · 2018Trial
- Results from a Patient-Based Health Education Intervention in Reducing Antibiotic Use for Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in the Private Sector Primary Care Setting in Singapore.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Assessment of patients' attitudes and actions toward Patient Information Leaflets in Jordan: A cross-sectional study.Farmaceuticos comunitarios · 2026Article
- A feasibility study of the use of a patient leaflet for respiratory tract infection consultations in general practice in Ireland.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2026Article
- Using learner verification and transcreation to develop multicultural patient education materials for acute respiratory tract infections to decrease inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.PEC innovation · 2025Article
- Patients, antibiotics andJAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePatients' knowledge and expectations may influence prescription of antibiotics. Therefore, providing evidence-based information on cause of symptoms, self-management and treatment is essential. However, providing information during consultations is challenging. Patient information leaflets could facilitate consultations by increasing patients' knowledge, decrease unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics and decrease reconsultations for similar illnesses. Our objective was to systematically review effectiveness of information leaflets used for informing patients about common infections during consultations in general practice. DESIGN, SETTING AND
participantsWe systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE for studies evaluating information leaflets on common infections in general practice. Two reviewers extracted data and assessed article quality. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Antibiotic use and reconsultation rates.
resultsOf 2512 unique records, eight studies were eligible (7 randomised, controlled trials, 1 non-randomised study) accounting for 3407 patients. Study quality varied from reasonable to good. Five studies investigated effects of leaflets during consultations for respiratory tract infections; one concerned conjunctivitis, one urinary tract infections and one gastroenteritis and tonsillitis. Three of four studies presented data on antibiotic use and showed significant reductions of prescriptions in leaflet groups with a relative risk (RR) varying from 0.53 (0.40 to 0.69) to 0.96 (0.83 to 1.11). Effects on reconsultation varied widely. One large study showed lower reconsultation rates (RR 0.70 (0.53 to 0.91), two studies showed no effect, and one study showed increased reconsultation rates (RR 1.53 (1.03 to 2.27)). Studies were too heterogenic to perform a meta-analysis.
conclusionsPatient information leaflets during general practitioners consultations for common infections are promising tools to reduce antibiotic prescriptions. Results on reconsultation rates for similar symptoms vary, with a tendency toward fewer reconsultations when patients are provided with a leaflet. Use of information leaflets in cases of common infections should be encouraged. Their contributing role in multifaceted interventions targeting management of common infections in primary care needs to further exploration.
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.