Data from electronic patient records are suitable for surveillance of antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory tract infections in primary health care.

Diagnoses and antibiotic treatments were analysed in relation to respiratory tract infections (RTI). A 1-y retrospective study was made of electronic patient records (EPR) for encounters concerning RTIs in primary health care in Sweden. The study covered a registered population of 102,050 individuals at 12 primary health care centres in 3 counties. Data were recorded on number of episodes, encounters, diagnostic codes and antibiotic prescriptions. The yearly number of episodes of RTIs was 16,964 or 166 per 1000 inhabitants per y. The total number of encounters was 19,965. The most frequent diagnoses were common cold (40%), acute tonsillitis (18%), and acute bronchitis (15%). The yearly number of antibiotic prescriptions was 7961, accounting for 47% of the episodes or 78 per 1000 inhabitants per y. The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were phenoxymethylpenicillin (61%), tetracyclines (18%) and macrolides 8%). Standard EPRs provide a feasible source of clinical information which, taking limitations into consideration, could be used for the follow-up of trends in antibiotic prescribing and of adherence to guidelines with regard to RTIs.