Scandinavian journal of primary health care
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2009
The Norwegian General Practice (NORGEP) criteria for assessing potentially inappropriate prescriptions to elderly patients. A modified Delphi study.
To establish a clinically relevant list with explicit criteria for pharmacologically inappropriate prescriptions in general practice for elderly people > or =70 years. ⋯ The NORGEP criteria may serve as rules of thumb for general practitioners (GPs) related to their prescribing practice for elderly patients, and as a tool for evaluating the quality of GPs' prescribing in settings where access to clinical information for individual patients is limited, e.g. in prescription databases and quality improvement interventions.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2009
Sputum colour for diagnosis of a bacterial infection in patients with acute cough.
Sputum colour plays an important role in the disease concepts for acute cough, both in the patients' and the doctors' view. However, it is unclear whether the sputum colour can be used for diagnosis of a bacterial infection. ⋯ The sputum colour of patients with acute cough and no underlying chronic lung disease does not imply therapeutic consequences such as prescription of antibiotics.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2009
GPs' antibiotic prescription patterns for respiratory tract infections--still room for improvement.
Inappropriate use of antibiotics is associated with increased antibiotic resistance in the community. About 90% of all antibiotic prescriptions in Norway are issued by general practitioners and in 60% issued for respiratory tract infections. The article describes and analyses antibiotic prescription patterns by general practitioners in Vestfold, Norway. ⋯ The variation in proportion of total antibiotic prescribing and broad-spectrum prescription for respiratory tract infections is high, and reveals potentials to change general practitioners' prescription behaviour, in order to maintain the positive situation in Norway as to antibiotic resistance.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2009
Trends in number of consultations and antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory tract infections between 1999 and 2005 in primary healthcare in Kalmar County, Southern Sweden.
BACKGROUND. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) comprise the most common indication for consulting a general practitioner and obtaining an antibiotic prescription. ⋯ This large population study, comprising more than six years of observations, showed the number of primary healthcare patients receiving an RTI diagnosis decreased during the period 1999-2005, but the proportion of patients receiving an antibiotic prescription remained the same. The large seasonal variations indicate a need for further interventions to decrease antibiotic use for RTIs.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2009
Comparative StudyDifferences in COPD-related readmissions to primary and secondary care hospitals.
To study differences in readmissions to primary and secondary care hospitals for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ COPD patients discharged from primary care hospitals have a greater risk of readmission, particularly within a week, than those discharged from secondary care. This risk may be attributed to differences in treatment procedures and arrangement of subsequent care. Thus, in the future, more attention should be paid to primary healthcare resources and staff training.