From: Combined assessment of clinical and patient factors on doctors’ decisions to prescribe antibiotics
Variables | Number of patients (%) N = 1454 | Odds Ratio | P | 95 % Confidence Interval |
---|---|---|---|---|
Temperature above 38 °C for at least one day | 659 (45.26 %) | 2.12 | <0.001 | 1.72–2.62 |
Symptom duration longer than 7 days | 421 (28.91 %) | 3.68 | <0.001 | 2.85–4.75 |
Headache while bending forward | 181 (12.43 %) | 1.76 | 0.001 | 1.27–2.44 |
Redness of the throat | 556 (38.19 %) | 1.72 | <0.001 | 1.38–2.13 |
Tonsillar exudates | 178 (12.23 %) | 13.96 | <0.001 | 7.69–25.34 |
Enlargement of cervical and/or submandibular lymph nodes | 260 (17.86 %) | 3.13 | <0.001 | 2.30–4.25 |
Expectoration of purulent sputum | 203 (13.94 %) | 4.83 | <0.001 | 3.20–7.10 |
Thick purulent nasal discharge | 173 (11.88 %) | 3.02 | <0.001 | 2.09–4.38 |
Auscultation sounds: wheezing and rhonchi | 181 (12.43 %) | 11.03 | <0.001 | 6.43–18.93 |
Auscultation sounds: rales or crepitations | 99 (6.80 %) | 21.57 | <0.001 | <0.001 7.89–59.00 |
Patient factor 1: patient started treatment on his own as he/she was in possession of an antibiotic | 111 (7.62 %) | 3.19 | <0.001 | 2.00–5.08 |
Patient factor 2: direct request for antibiotics | 247 (16.96 %) | 2.16 | <0.001 | 1.60–2.89 |
Patient factor 3: candidate diagnosis | 308 (21.15 %) | 1.41 | 0.009 | 1.08–1.82 |
Patient factor 5: the patient insists that antibiotics were effective in previous similar cases | 115 (7.90 %) | 1.29 | 0.195 | 0.88–1.91 |
Patient factor 6: the patient recalls that a family member was prescribed an antibiotic when he/she had similar symptoms and had good results | 92 (6.32 %) | 1.17 | 0.473 | 0.76–1.80 |
Patient factor 7: the patient says that similar symptoms in the past did not resolve without an antibiotic | 103 (7.07 %) | 1.30 | 0.200 | 0.87–1.97 |
Patient factor 8: patient’s emphasis on symptom severity (portraying severity of illness) | 272 (18.68 %) | 1.88 | <0.001 | 1.40–2.48 |
Patient factor 10: other expressions used by the patient that may influence prescription decision | 105 (7.21 %) | 1.77 | 0.008 | 1.16–2.70 |
Factors that decreased the likelihood of antibiotic prescription | ||||
Sore throat | 919 (63.12 %) | 0.65 | <0.001 | 0.52–0.80 |
Hoarseness | 337 (23.15 %) | 0.74 | 0.014 | 0.58–0.94 |
Cough | 1037 (71.22 %) | 0.59 | <0.001 | 0.47–0.75 |
Rhinorrhoea | 787 (54.05 %) | O.26 | <0.001 | 0.20–0.32 |
Patient factor 9: direct request not to prescribe antibiotics | 80 (5.49 %) | 0.35 | <0.001 | 0.22–0.57 |
Patient factor 4: emphasising the necessity of quick recovery/appealing to life circumstances | 184 (12.64 %) | 0.97 | 0.829 | 0.71–1.32 |