Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39586944›Full record

ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2025

National Survey of Factors Associated with Physician Antibiotic Prescribing Preferences.

Dongzhe Hong, Aaron S Kesselheim, Robert Morlock, Joshua P Metlay, John H Powers, William B Feldman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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

6 authors.

Dongzhe HongDepartment of Medicine, Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. dhong5@bwh.harvard.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-6400-9667
Aaron S KesselheimDepartment of Medicine, Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Robert MorlockAcumen Health Research Institute, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Joshua P MetlayHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
John H PowersDepartment of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
William B FeldmanDepartment of Medicine, Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe development of new infectious disease therapies has become a public health priority given the suboptimal efficacy and adverse effects with current drugs for some patients. Understanding the factors associated with physician antibiotic prescribing preferences can help guide policymakers seeking to incentivize the development of interventions that improve patient outcomes for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

objectivesTo determine the factors associated with physician decision-making when prescribing antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI), and cellulitis.

designA cross-sectional online survey in April 2023.

participantsPhysicians enrolled in an online panel who reported having prescribed antibiotics within the past year. MAIN MEASURES: Respondents were asked to select 1 to 15 characteristics that they deemed most important. From their selected characteristics, for each type of infection, they were then asked to rank up to five on a scale with 5 points given to the top-scoring characteristic and 1 point to the bottom-scoring. The primary outcome was the mean score for each characteristic across the three types of infections weighted by the number of respondents in the sample, with higher scores indicating higher importance. KEY

resultsAmong the 130 physician participants, 106 (82%) completed the survey. Just under half (46%) were female; 89% of respondents were White, 3% Black, and 9% another race, while 15% reported Hispanic ethnicity. The highest-scored factors influencing antibiotic prescription preferences were the cure rate (treatment efficacy) (mean score: 2.87), severity of the infection (1.88), rare but major side effects (1.33), interactions with other drugs (1.33), previous experience and knowledge of the drug (1.19), and future risk of resistant infection to the patient (1.15). Out-of-pocket patient costs were prioritized lowest (mean score: 0.25).

conclusionsIn considering which antibiotic to prescribe, physicians prioritize clinical outcomes related to drug efficacy and safety over public health- or economics-focused factors.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsDrug PrescriptionsPractice Patterns, Physicians'AdultCellulitisCommunity-Acquired InfectionsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPneumoniaSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesUrinary Tract InfectionsAnti-Bacterial Agentsantibioticscellulitispneumoniaprescribing preferencesurinary tract infections

Identifiers

PMID39586944
PMCPMC11914591

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.