ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2021
Prescribing antibiotics: the use of diagnostic tests in general practice. A register-based study.
Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Clinical indications for antibiotic prescribing in Danish general practice.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- The use of rapid tests beyond established clinical recommendations should be avoided entirely.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Point-of-care C-reactive protein testing in general practice out-of-hours services: tool or trap?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Factors influencing antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections in primary care - a comparison of physicians with different antibiotic prescribing rates.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- Novel Host Response-Based Diagnostics to Differentiate the Etiology of Fever in Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Factors associated with C-reactive protein testing when prescribing antibiotics in general practice: a register-based study.BMC primary care · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectiveTo assess (i) the pattern of antibiotic prescribing in Danish general practice, (ii) the use of diagnostic tests [point-of-care (POC) and tests analysed at the hospital laboratory (laboratory tests)], and (iii) the frequency of diagnostic testing in relation to antibiotic prescriptions.
designRetrospective cross-sectional register-based study.
settingGeneral practice in a geographical area of Denmark covering 455,956 inhabitants. SUBJECTS: We studied redeemed antibiotic prescriptions and performed diagnostic tests in general practice from 2013 to 2017 among inhabitants in nine selected municipalities.
main outcome measuresFrequency of antibiotic courses. Frequency and type of diagnostic testing performed in relation to types of antibiotics.
resultsA total of 783,252 antibiotic courses were redeemed from general practice with an overall decrease of 19% during 2013-2017. Diagnostic testing increased by 6% during this period. POC tests comprised the majority of performed diagnostic tests (83%) with C-reactive protein (CRP) as the most frequently used test. A 27% increase in the use of laboratory tests was observed. Tests were performed in relation to 43% of all antibiotic courses; most in relation to prescriptions for sulphonamide and trimethoprim (57%) and rarely when prescribing tetracyclines (10%). Conflicting with national guidelines, Danish GPs prescribed fluoroquinolones without performing any kind of diagnostic testing in 48% of the cases.
conclusionsThis study provides an overview of the use of diagnostic tests in relation to antibiotics and creates basis for further research into the variability between types of antibiotics. The study indicates that there is room for improvement to use diagnostic tests as an aid to promote prudent antibiotic use.KEY POINTSDiagnostic tests (point-of-care or tests analysed at the hospital laboratory), can increase diagnostic certainty and lead to a reduction in antibiotic use in general practice.A decrease in antibiotic courses in general practice in Denmark was observed during 2013-2017, while the use of diagnostic tests increased.A diagnostic test was performed in relation to 43% of antibiotic courses.Only 52% of prescribed fluoroquinolones was related to a diagnostic test, conflicting with national guidelines.
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