ArticleJAC-antimicrobial resistance2025
Duration of antibiotic treatment for respiratory tract infections in primary care.
Article in JAC-antimicrobial resistance, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Homeopathic Medicines for the Treatment of Acute Otitis Media: a Real-World Cohort Study on Recurrences and Antibiotic Prescriptions Compared to those with Conventional Treatments.Homeopathy : the journal of the Faculty of Homeopathy · 2026Article
- Antibiotic Adjuvant Potential of Selected Essential Oil Components Against Respiratory Pathogens: From Planktonic Synergy to Early-Stage Biofilm Inhibition.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mucosal immune cell priming by intranasally deliveredFrontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Tailoring Antibiotic Duration for Respiratory Tract Infections in Primary Care: Protocol for a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial Study (STORM).JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: The primary driver of antimicrobial resistance is excessive antibiotic use, posing a global threat to public health. Reducing individual exposure to antibiotics is a key to addressing the problem. This study aimed to assess the duration of antibiotic courses administered to patients with acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in primary care. Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with RTI symptoms were prospectively included from general practices and out-of-hours services in France, Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Spain for two winter periods (February to April 2022 and 2023). Data were collected using a paper-based Audit Project Odense template, with clinicians recording patient age, gender, RTI diagnosis, type of antibiotic prescribed and treatment duration. Results: A total of 196 doctors (133 in general practice and 63 in out-of-hours services) registered 11 270 cases, with 34.0% (3835) receiving antibiotics. The mean antibiotic course duration was 7.52 days (SD 2.11), which was significantly longer for pneumonia, COVID-19 infection and pharyngotonsillitis (8.01, 8.00 and 7.74 days, respectively), and lowest for predominantly viral infections, such as the common cold and flu infection, laryngitis and acute bronchitis (6.32, 6.48 and 6.98 days, respectively; Conclusions: Antibiotic courses for common RTIs are often prolonged, which does not align with current recommendations for course duration. Antibiotics should be avoided in cases of predominantly viral infections and most mixed infections; however, if deemed necessary, the courses should be substantially reduced to minimize unnecessary exposure.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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.