Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40838445›Full record

ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2026

Clinical indications for antibiotic prescribing in Danish general practice.

Zarghuna Ahengar, Christina Hovmark Pedersen, Alina Zalounina Falborg, Malene Plejdrup Hansen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Persistence and truth in research and practice.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

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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.

Zarghuna AhengarCenter for General Practice at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Christina Hovmark PedersenCenter for General Practice at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Alina Zalounina FalborgCenter for General Practice at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Malene Plejdrup HansenCenter for General Practice at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-8444-1369

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAn updated overview of the antibiotic prescribing pattern in Danish general practice is needed to help inform continued efforts for rational antibiotic prescribing.

objectiveTo investigate clinical indications for antibiotic prescriptions issued in general practice in Denmark. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis register-based study included all redeemed antibiotic prescriptions issued in Danish general practice between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. Data were extracted from 'Antibiotikastatistik', a publicly available register maintained by the Danish Health Data Authority. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the distribution of the clinical indications. Furthermore, the distribution of the antibiotics prescriptions was analyzed by age across different clinical indication groups, stratified by gender.

resultsA total of 1,916,910 antibiotic prescriptions were issued from Danish general practice in 2023. More than half of these prescriptions were used for treatment of either a respiratory tract infection (28.4%) or a urinary tract infection (26.7%). Throat infection and pneumonia comprised about 70% of indications for treatment of a respiratory tract infection. Prophylactic treatment was mainly used for elderly patients - and most often for urinary tract infections. Some 23.3% of the prescriptions either contained an 'unspecific indication' or had no indication stated.

conclusionsThis study provides a solid overview of indications used for antibiotic prescriptions in Danish general practice. This information might be used for development of future antibiotic stewardship interventions.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsDrug PrescriptionsGeneral PracticePractice Patterns, Physicians'AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overChildChild, PreschoolDenmarkFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleAnti-Bacterial AgentsAntibioticsclinical indicationscommunity-acquired infectionsgeneral practiceprescriptions

Identifiers

PMID40838445
PMCPMC12918312

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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.