PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 584 - 8 Aug 2009

Booklet lowers antibioticprescribing in children

Clinicians’ use of an interactive booklet on respiratorytract infections (RTIs) in children during consultationscan significantly reduce the prescription andconsumption of antibiotics for these diseases, newresearch indicates.

Children aged 6 months to 14 years (n = 558) whopresented with an RTI to primary care were assigned toeither a control group, or an intervention group.Intervention group consultations included physiciansusing and supplying to parents an eight-page interactivebooklet on RTIs in children. Parents were asked tocomplete a survey 14 days after recruitment.

It was found that, while reconsultation rates were notsignificantly different between the two groups,antibiotics were prescribed significantly less often in theintervention group (19.5%) than the control group(40.8%). In addition, the proportion of parents who saidthey would consult in the future if their child developeda similar illness was significantly lower in theintervention group (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.20, 0.57),despite the intervention having no statistically significantimpact on reported parental satisfaction, reassurance,enablement, or perceived usefulness of informationprovided about their child’s illness. The researcherswrite that such a pamphlet may be useful to GPs whowish to reduce their prescription rates, but feel they lacka tool to achieve this.Francis NA, et al. Effect of using an interactive booklet about childhoodrespiratory tract infections in primary care consultations on reconsulting andantibiotic prescribing: a cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ 339: 374-377,No. 7717, 15 Aug 2009 801108576

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 8 Aug 2009 No. 5841173-5503/10/0584-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved