Delayed antibiotic prescribing strategies for respiratory tract infections in primary care: pragmatic, factorial, randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To estimate the effectiveness of different strategies involving delayed antibiotic prescription for acute respiratory tract infections.

Design

Open, pragmatic, parallel group, factorial, randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Primary care in the United Kingdom.

Patients

889 patients aged 3 years and over with acute respiratory tract infection, recruited between 3 March 2010 and 28 March 2012 by 53 health professionals in 25 practices.

Interventions

Patients judged not to need immediate antibiotics were randomised to undergo four strategies of delayed prescription: recontact for a prescription, post-dated prescription, collection of the prescription, and be given the prescription (patient led). During the trial, a strategy of no antibiotic prescri

SUBMITTER: Little P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3944682 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature