Observational studyBMJ open2024
Physician characteristics associated with antiviral prescriptions for older adults with COVID-19 in Japan: an observational study.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient Characteristics and Healthcare Resource Use among Patients With COVID-19 Receiving Treatment with Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (PAXLOVID™) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Pulmonary therapy · 2026Article
- Impact of treatment strategies incorporating sacubitril/valsartan on achievement of guideline-recommended blood pressure targets and representative safety outcomes.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026Article
- Patterns of use of oral antivirals for COVID-19 in people 70 years and over in Victoria, Australia: a linked data study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Molnupiravir Versus Best Supportive Care for the Treatment of Outpatient COVID-19 in High-Risk Older Adults in Japan.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2025Article
- Primary Care Physician Characteristics and Low-Value Care Provision in Japan.JAMA health forum · 2025Article
- The Family Doctor in the "COVID-19 Era".Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesAlthough guidelines recommend antiviral therapy for outpatients with COVID-19 who are at high risk of progressing to severe conditions, such as older adults, many patients do not receive appropriate treatment. Little is known, however, about the physician factors associated with the prescription of guideline-recommended antiviral therapy for patients with COVID-19.
designA cross-sectional study.
settingData including outpatient visits in primary care clinics in Japan from April to August 2023.
participantsWe analysed 30 953 outpatients aged ≥65 years treated with COVID-19 (mean (SD) age, 75.0 (7.6) years; 17 652 women (57.0%)) in 1394 primary care clinics. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the prescription of guideline-recommended antivirals (ie, nirmatrelvir-ritonavir or molnupiravir), adjusted for patient characteristics, months of visits and regions.
resultsAntiviral prescriptions were concentrated among a small proportion of physicians; for example, the top 10% of physicians that had the largest number of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir prescriptions accounted for 92.4% of all nirmatrelvir-ritonavir prescriptions. After adjusting for potential confounders, physicians with higher patient volumes were more likely to prescribe guideline-recommended antivirals to their patients (adjusted OR (aOR) for high vs low volume, 1.76; 95% CI 1.31 to 2.38; adjusted p<0.001). We found no evidence that the likelihood of guideline-recommended antiviral prescription differed based on physicians' gender (aOR for women vs men, 1.24; 95% CI 0.88 to 1.74; adjusted p=0.48) or age (aOR for 45-59 vs <45 years, 1.16; 95% CI 0.87 to 1.54; adjusted p=0.48; aOR for ≥60 vs <45 years, 0.88; 95% CI 0.66 to 1.16; adjusted p=0.48). These patterns were similar when examining nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir separately.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that provider-level factors, such as the clinical experience of treating the patients with COVID-19, play an important role in the appropriate prescription of antiviral medications for COVID-19 in the primary care setting.
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