Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
-
To explore whether there are observable physician characteristics associated with antibiotic prescribing for pediatric respiratory tract infections (RTIs). ⋯ Substantial variations were found among physicians in prescribing antibiotics for pediatric RTIs. Observable characteristics accounted for a meaningful proportion of this variation; however, some physicians have a higher propensity to prescribe than others do, which remains unexplained. Patient and regional characteristics did not explain much of the variation across physicians. In future, behavioural interventions should be designed and evaluated to target physicians with higher propensity to prescribe.
-
To examine the mortality risk presented by normal-weight central obesity, to identify a clinical measure to aid in the identification of this phenotype, and to explore the means for mitigation of this risk. ⋯ A waist-to-height ratio exceeding 0.5 at normal BMI identifies elevated mortality risk for cardiometabolic disease. This risk might equal or exceed that of centrally obese patients who are overweight or obese. Modest dietary and exercise interventions can be effective in mitigation of this risk.