Research ArticlePractice

Delayed antibiotic prescriptions for URTIs

Noah Ivers, Bruce Arroll and G. Michael Allan
Canadian Family Physician November 2011, 57 (11) 1287;

Clinical question

What are the advantages and limitations of delayed prescriptions for upper respiratory tract infections?

Evidence

A delayed antibiotic prescription involves advice to fill the prescription only if necessary.

  • In a Cochrane systematic review,1 9 RCTs compared delayed and immediate antibiotic prescription.

    • -Filled antibiotic prescriptions: 32% in delayed versus 93% in immediate groups.

    • -Outcomes for delayed versus immediate groups (statistically significant differences reported)

      • —bronchitis or common cold: no difference;

      • —pharyngitis: 2 studies found fever severity at day 3 worse with delayed prescription, but other outcomes were not different;

      • —otitis media: 1 study found pain severity and malaise at day 3 were worse with delayed prescription, but other outcomes were not different;

      • —delayed prescription slightly reduces patient satisfaction (87% vs 92%; OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.76).

    • -In 1 study, the reconsultation rate was lower with delayed prescriptions.

    • -Adverse events: 2 studies found reduced diarrhea in delayed groups; other studies showed no differences.

  • New RCT: In patients with past visits for cough who received antibiotics, delayed prescriptions significantly reduced reconsultation rates (P < .001).2

Context

  • Earlier systematic review (4 RCTs) had similar findings.3

  • Concerns with antibiotics include promoting resistant bacteria in the user and in the population,4,5 and frequent side effects (eg, rash, diarrhea).6

  • Three RCTs compared delayed and no prescription1:

    • -14% in the no-antibiotic group filled antibiotic prescriptions versus 32% in the delayed group.

  • Delayed prescriptions are inappropriate when patients

    • -present with worse symptoms7 (eg, in children with acute otitis media, those with fever or vomiting did worse with delayed antibiotics8),

    • -have important comorbidities (eg, congestive heart failure),7 or

    • -have barriers to accessing follow-up care.

Bottom line

Delayed prescriptions substantially reduce antibiotic use but might slightly worsen some symptoms compared with immediate prescriptions. Delayed prescriptions might also reduce reconsultation rates. For mild upper respiratory tract infections they are not associated with important negative consequences.

Implementation

Various approaches have been tested to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing while avoiding effects on patient satisfaction.9,10 This has been achieved through delayed prescription coupled with informative patient handouts and advice about pain and fever management.11,12 Patient information can be acquired from existing resources11 (eg, the Centres for Disease Control13) or designed in-house.12 The effect of handouts with delayed prescriptions to reduce antibiotics is sustainable in the long term.14

Notes

Tools for Practice articles in Canadian Family Physician are adapted from articles published twice monthly on the Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) website, summarizing medical evidence with a focus on topical issues and practice-modifying information. The ACFP summaries and the series in Canadian Family Physician are coordinated by Dr G. Michael Allan, and the summaries are co-authored by at least 1 practising family physician. Feedback is welcome and can be sent to toolsforpractice{at}cfpc.ca. Archived articles are available on the ACFP website: www.acfp.ca.

Footnotes

  • The opinions expressed in Tools for Practice articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily mirror the perspective and policy of the Alberta College of Family Physicians.

References

  1. ↵
    1. Spurling GKP,
    2. Del Mar CB,
    3. Dooley L,
    4. Foxlee R
    . Delayed antibiotics for respiratory infections. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007;(3):CD004417.
  2. ↵
    1. Moore M,
    2. Little P,
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    5. Watson L,
    6. Warner G,
    7. et al
    . Effect of antibiotic prescribing strategies and an information leaflet on longer-term reconsultation for acute lower respiratory tract infection. Br J Gen Pract 2009;59(567):728-34.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
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    1. Arroll B,
    2. Kenealy T,
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    . Do delayed prescriptions reduce antibiotic use in respiratory tract infections? A systematic review. Br J Gen Pract 2003;53(496):871-7.
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    . Do antimicrobials increase the carriage rate of penicillin resistant pneumococci in children? Cross sectional prevalence study. BMJ 1996;313(7054):387-91.
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    1. Venkatesan P,
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    . Antibiotic resistance in common acute respiratory pathogens. Thorax 1995;50(5):481-3.
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    1. Berman S,
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    4. Smith PJ,
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    . Otitis media-related antibiotic prescribing patterns, outcomes, and expenditures in a pediatric medicaid population. Pediatrics 1997;100(4):585-92.
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  7. ↵
    1. Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE
    . Respiratory tract infections—antibiotic prescribing. Prescribing of antibiotics for self-limiting respiratory tract infections in adults and children in primary care. London, UK: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; 2008.
  8. ↵
    1. Little P,
    2. Gould C,
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    . Predictors of poor outcome and benefits from antibiotics in children with acute otitis media: pragmatic randomised trial. BMJ 2002;325(7354):22.
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    1. Ranji SR,
    2. Steinman MA,
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    . Interventions to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing: a systematic review and quantitative analysis. Med Care 2008;46(8):847-62.
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    1. Arnold SR,
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    . Interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing practices in ambulatory care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2005;(4):CD003539.
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    1. Macfarlane J,
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    . Reducing antibiotic use for acute bronchitis in primary care: blinded randomised controlled trial of patient information leaflet. BMJ 2002;324(7329):91-3.
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    1. Trepka MJ,
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    . The effect of a community intervention trial on parental knowledge and awareness of antibiotic resistance and appropriate antibiotic use in children. Pediatrics 2001;107(1):E6.
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  13. ↵
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [website]
    . Get smart: know when antibiotics work. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2010. Available from: www.cdc.gov/Features/GetSmart. Accessed 2011 Aug 17.
  14. ↵
    1. Cates CJ
    . Delayed antibiotics for children with acute otitis media: is practice change sustainable? Evid Based Med 2009;14(1):2-3.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
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Delayed antibiotic prescriptions for URTIs
Noah Ivers, Bruce Arroll, G. Michael Allan
Canadian Family Physician Nov 2011, 57 (11) 1287;
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