Use of antibiotics in general practice in Denmark in 1987.

The worldwide usage of antibiotics is increasing making detailed information on prescribing patterns and intervention methods necessary. This investigation focused on the general practitioner's (GP's) usage of antibiotics in Denmark. Information on 7,607 patients treated by 602 GP's during 1 week in March 1987 were collected. The most commonly treated infectious diseases were upper respiratory tract infections (40%) and lower respiratory tract infections (17%). Penicillin was by far the most frequently prescribed antibiotic (44%), followed by antibiotics used locally (17%) and ampicillins (14%). Compared with previous investigations, this result indicated a relative increase in prescription of penicillin during recent years. The mean number of daily dosages was 2-3 and the duration of treatment 6-7 days, with ampicillin generally given 1 day longer than penicillin. The differences between prescribed daily dosages (PDD) found and defined daily dosages (DDD) ranged from + 40% to - 50%, making estimations of numbers of treated patients from total usage of antibiotics in DDD/1,000 inhabitants/day impossible.