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Drug prescribing for children in general practice. A report from the Møre & Romsdal Prescription Study
J Straand1, K Rokstad, U Heggedal
1Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergen, Norway.
Insights
General practitioners frequently prescribe respiratory and anti-infective drugs for children, especially young boys. Phenoxymethylpenicillin and erythromycin were common antibiotics for specific infections.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pharmacology
- General Practice
- Drug Prescribing Patterns
Background:
- Understanding drug prescribing patterns in pediatric care is crucial for optimizing treatment and managing antimicrobial resistance.
- General practitioners (GPs) are the primary point of care for most childhood illnesses, making their prescribing habits highly influential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and characterize the drug prescribing patterns of general practitioners for children aged 0-12 years in Western Norway.
- To identify the most frequently prescribed drug classes, specific agents, and associated diagnoses in pediatric consultations.
Main Methods:
- An observational, cross-sectional study design was employed.
- Data were collected from 7,229 general practitioner-patient contacts involving 5,222 prescribed drugs.
- Analysis focused on prescribing rates, drug groups, specific agents, and recorded diagnoses.
Main Results:
- The highest prescribing rates were observed in boys under 2 years old (82.1 prescriptions per 100 contacts).
- Respiratory system and systemic anti-infectives constituted two-thirds of all prescriptions.
- Phenoxymethylpenicillin and erythromycin were the most common antibiotics for specific respiratory and infectious conditions; antibiotics were frequently prescribed for tonsillitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and UTIs.
Conclusions:
- General practitioners in Western Norway exhibit distinct drug prescribing patterns for children, with a high prevalence of respiratory and anti-infective agents.
- The study highlights the significant role of specific antibiotics like phenoxymethylpenicillin and erythromycin in treating common pediatric infections.
- Findings underscore the need for continued monitoring of pediatric prescribing practices to ensure appropriate antibiotic use and combat resistance.
Abstract:
To investigate general practitioners' drug prescribing patterns for children (0-12 y), an observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in Western Norway. Seven thousand, two hundred and twenty-nine GP-patient contacts during which 5222 drugs were prescribed, were included for analysis. The highest prescribing rates were for boys < 2 y (82.1 prescriptions per 100 contacts). Two-thirds of all prescriptions were for drugs in main groups respiratory system or systemic anti-infectives. The 20 most commonly prescribed agents comprised 75% of all prescriptions. The 20 most frequently recorded diagnoses for prescribing comprised 81% of all. Phenoxymethylpenicillin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic for otitis, tonsillitis and sinusitis, while erythromycin was used most often for bronchitis and pneumonia. Antibiotics were prescribed in more than 8/10 contacts for tonsillitis, sinusitis, acute bronchitis and pneumonia, and in two-thirds of all contacts for urinary tract infections. Sixty-five percent of the antibiotic prescriptions for urinary tract infections were for co-trimoxazole.