Gene Tests May Reduce Needless Antibiotic Prescriptions

Do delayed prescriptions reduce antibiotic use in respiratory tract infections? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND There is concern about the increasing resistance of antibiotics to common bacteria. Delayed prescribing for respiratory tract infections is a strategy that may reduce the use of antibiotics. AIM To systematically review controlled trials of delayed prescriptions to establish their capacity to reduce antibiotic intake. DESIGN OF STUDY A systematic review of the literature. SETTI...

Retrospective survey of antibiotic prescriptions in dentistry.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate dentists' prescription writing patterns and their appreciation of the characteristics of antibiotics. DESIGN Evaluation of drug prescriptions written over a six-month period. SETTING Dental Hospital, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. SUBJECTS Retrospective analysis of 313 prescriptions written by dentists attending to outpatient...

Needless contraception.

External validation study of a clinical decision aid to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in women with acute cystitis

BACKGROUND Empirical prescribing of antibiotics to women with symptoms of acute cystitis prior to culture results is common, but subsequent culture results are often negative. A clinical decision aid for prescribing decisions in acute cystitis was previously developed that could reduce these unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions but has not been validated. This study sought to validate this deci...

Antibiotic Prescriptions in Critically-Ill Patients: A Latin American Experience

BACKGROUND It is widely acknowledged that the presence of infection is an important outcome determinant for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. In fact, antibiotics are one of the most common therapies administered in the ICU settings. AIM To evaluate the current usage of antibiotics in Latin American ICUs. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A one-day p-oint prevalence study to investigate the patterns o...