Rabiatul Salmi Rezal1, Mohamed Azmi Hassali1, Alian A Alrasheedy2, Fahad Saleem1, Faridah Aryani Md Yusof3, Mardhiyah Kamal3, Rosminah Mohd Din3, Brian Godman4,5. 1. a 1 Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia. 2. b 2 Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, Saudi Arabia. 3. c 3 Pharmaceutical Services Division, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 4. d 4 Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. 5. e 5 Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: It is necessary to ascertain current prescribing of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) to address potential overuse. A retrospective analysis was conducted of all prescriptions for URTIs among 10 public primary healthcare centers in Kedah, Malaysia, from 1 January to 31 March 2014. RESULTS: A total of 123,524 prescriptions were screened and analyzed. Of these, 7129 prescriptions were for URTI, with 31.8% (n = 2269) containing antibiotics. Macrolides were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic, constituting 61% (n = 1403) of total antibiotics prescribed. There was a statistically significant association between different prescribers and diagnoses (p = 0.001) and a weak positive trend suggesting family medicine specialists are more competent in antibiotic prescribing, followed by medical officers and assistant medical officers (τ = 0.122). CONCLUSIONS: Prescribing practices of some prescribers were inconsistent with current guidelines encouraging resistance development. National antimicrobial stewardship programs and further educational initiatives are ongoing in Malaysia to improve antibiotic use.
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: It is necessary to ascertain current prescribing of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) to address potential overuse. A retrospective analysis was conducted of all prescriptions for URTIs among 10 public primary healthcare centers in Kedah, Malaysia, from 1 January to 31 March 2014. RESULTS: A total of 123,524 prescriptions were screened and analyzed. Of these, 7129 prescriptions were for URTI, with 31.8% (n = 2269) containing antibiotics. Macrolides were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic, constituting 61% (n = 1403) of total antibiotics prescribed. There was a statistically significant association between different prescribers and diagnoses (p = 0.001) and a weak positive trend suggesting family medicine specialists are more competent in antibiotic prescribing, followed by medical officers and assistant medical officers (τ = 0.122). CONCLUSIONS: Prescribing practices of some prescribers were inconsistent with current guidelines encouraging resistance development. National antimicrobial stewardship programs and further educational initiatives are ongoing in Malaysia to improve antibiotic use.
Entities:
Keywords:
Malaysia; antibiotics stewardship programs; guidelines; inappropriate use of antibiotics; primary healthcare centres; upper respiratory tract infections
Authors: Marina Morgado Garcia; Pamela Santos Azevedo; Andrew Mirelman; Leandro Pinheiro Safatle; Roberto Iunes; Marion Clark Bennie; Brian Godman; Augusto Afonso Guerra Junior Journal: Front Pharmacol Date: 2020-04-14 Impact factor: 5.810