Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38343625›Full record

ArticleJAC-antimicrobial resistance2024

Trends in antibiotic prescribing in primary care out-of-hours doctors' services in Ireland.

Mala Shah, Teresa M Barbosa, Gary Stack, Aoife Fleming

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JAC-antimicrobial resistance, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Bacteriophage-mediated reduction of uropathogenicbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  5. 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 · 2025
    Article
  6. Review
  7. National outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in Cyprus, 2020-2022.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025
    Article
  8. Challenges to quality in contemporary, hybrid general practice a multi-site longitudinal case study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mala ShahCommunity Operations, Health Service Executive, Cork, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9110-6008
Teresa M BarbosaPharmaceutical Care Research Group, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Gary StackSouthDoc Out of Hours Doctors Service, Cork and Kerry, Ireland.
Aoife FlemingPharmaceutical Care Research Group, School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5330-951X
University College Cork · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Infections are a common reason for patient consultation in out-of-hours (OOH) doctors' services. Surveillance of antibiotic prescribing in OOH settings is important to develop tailored antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions. Objectives: To evaluate antibiotic prescribing patterns in OOH services in the Cork Kerry region, Ireland to inform future AMS interventions. Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted of all oral antibiotic prescriptions in OOH doctors' consultations between 1 December 2019 and 31 December 2021 in the region. Data were gathered on age, gender, date and time of consultation, consultation method (in person, remote), antibiotic and its indication. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel v.2018 and SPSS v.28. Results: Overall, 17% (69 017 of 406 812) of the OOH doctors' consultations resulted in an antibiotic prescription during the study period. This varied from 31% of OOH consultations in December 2019 to less than 2% of OOH consultations in April 2020. Of the antibiotics prescribed, 21% were for children under 6 years old. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) were the most common indication for antibiotics (59%). Amoxicillin was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic (40% of all prescriptions). Red (reserved) antibiotics accounted for 19% of all prescriptions. During the COVID-19 pandemic period of the study, 66% of 49 421 of antibiotic prescriptions were issued from remote consultations. Conclusions: Low antibiotic prescribing levels during the early stages of the pandemic were not sustained. Antibiotic prescriptions from remote consultations were common. A key opportunity for AMS is addressing the volume of antibiotic prescribing for RTIs, particularly in children.

Identifiers

PMID38343625
PMCPMC10854216
OpenAlexW4391697459

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.