Antibiotic deprescribing: Spanish general practitioners' views on a new strategy to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics in primary care.

backgroundA doctor may recommend that a patient stop an antibiotic course before its scheduled completion time if further treatment may cause more harm than benefit.

objectivesThis study explores general practitioners' (GP) opinions about the use of antibiotic deprescribing (AD) in general practice.

methodsA cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study answered from February to March 2022. GPs (

resultsEleven hundred and seven doctors completed the surveys (18.2%), of whom 92.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 90.8-94%) reported having used the AD strategy in their practice at least once. GPs felt very confident in using a deprescribing strategy in patients with common cold and influenza (97.6% and 93.5%, respectively) but less with acute bronchitis (45.5%); 12.1% (95% CI, 10.2-14.2%) considered this practice harmful to patients. Respondents reported using AD more frequently when they initiated the antibiotic course (96.8%; 95% CI, 95.5-97.7) than when the treatment was initiated by another doctor (52.3%; 95% CI, 49.3-55.3%). However, doctors aged >60 years were more prone to use AD compared with younger colleagues (64.5% vs. 50%;

conclusionThe GPs in this study employ the strategy of AD. Nonetheless, essential differences lie in their views of the way the strategy is used. Further studies are warranted to explore the beliefs behind these perceptions and promote wider use of AD by GPs.