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Antibiotic treatment failure when consulting patients with respiratory tract infections in general practice. A

Margrethe Bordado Sköld1, Rune Aabenhus1, Ann Dorrit Guassora1

  • 1a Center for Education and Research in General Practice, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.

The European Journal of General Practice
|April 11, 2017
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

General practitioners (GPs) define antibiotic treatment failure (ATF) medically, but believe patients have different views. GPs use communication strategies to maintain trust, suggesting a potential gap in understanding ATF in acute respiratory infections.

Area of Science:

  • Primary healthcare research
  • Infectious disease management
  • Qualitative research methods

Background:

  • Antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs) is prevalent in primary care, despite many RTIs being viral.
  • A subset of antibiotic prescriptions for RTIs may be perceived as antibiotic treatment failure (ATF) due to lack of rapid recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore general practitioners' (GPs) perspectives on antibiotic treatment failure (ATF) in primary care.
  • To investigate the influence of ATF on the doctor-patient relationship.
  • To understand GPs' perceptions of patients' views regarding ATF.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 18 GPs.
  • Interviews focused on a specific case of acute RTI with ATF, followed by general reflections.
  • Data analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Main Results:

  • GPs agreed on a medical definition of ATF but perceived a significant difference in patient understanding.
  • GPs reported minimal impact of ATF on their daily work.
  • Communicative strategies were employed to maintain patient trust, with no perceived adverse effect on the doctor-patient relationship.

Conclusions:

  • A potential communication gap exists between doctors and patients regarding ATF, possibly due to differing definitions.
  • Further research is needed to understand patients' views on ATF.
  • This study is the first to examine GPs' experiences and views on ATF in acute respiratory infections and its impact on the doctor-patient relationship.
Keywords:
Antibiotic treatment failureacute respiratory tract infectiondoctor–patient relationshipgeneral practicequalitative study

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