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Table 2 Data on the 163 general practitioners participating in the study

From: Diagnostic labelling as determinant of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract episodes in general practice

Age in years (mean (SD))

47.1 (6.4)

Gender (% female)

26.4

Years since registration (mean (SD))

18.2 (8.7)

Number of patients (mean (SD))

2,197 (646)

Type of practice (% single-handed)

24.5

Consulting national guidelines for GPs (% > once a week)

54.0

Seeing pharmaceutical representatives (% yes)

56.4

Inclination to prescribe new drugs (mean (SD))*

2.4 (0.7)

Medical knowledge on respiratory tract symptoms and antibiotics (mean (SD))**

7.1 (1.5)

Views on acute respiratory tract symptoms and antibiotics (mean (SD))***

 

- Seriousness

2.0 (0.8)

- Self- limiting character

4.3 (0.6)

- Need to consult a general practitioner

3.5 (0.8)

- Need of antibiotics in case of fever

1.7 (0.7)

- Need of antibiotics in case of green phlegm

1.7 (0.7)

- Need of antibiotics in case of white spots in the throat

2.3 (1.1)

- Effectiveness of antibiotics

1.9 (0.8)

- Side-effects of antibiotics

2.3 (1.0)

Acute respiratory tract episodes/1,000 patients/year (mean (SD))

236.9 (67.7)

Proportion of acute respiratory tract episodes labelled as diagnosis (mean (SD))

0.70 (0.11)

Antibiotic prescriptions for acute respiratory tract episodes per 1,000 patients/year (mean (SD))

107.4 (45.0)

Proportion of antibiotic prescriptions/acute respiratory tract episodes (mean (SD))

0.41 (0.13)

  1. * Scale ranged as follows: 1 (low inclination) to 5 (high inclination)
  2. ** Scale ranged as follows: 1 (very low) to 10 (very high)
  3. ***Scale ranged as follows: 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)