title: [Physicians with access to point-of-care tests significantly reduce the antibiotic prescription for common cold].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of two levels of intervention on the antibiotic prescribing in patients with common cold.
  
  
  METHODS
  Before and after audit-based study carried out in primary healthcare centres in Spain. General practitioners registered all the episodes of common cold during 15 working days in January and February in 2008 (preintervention). Two types of intervention were considered: full intervention, consisting in individual feedback based on results from the first registry, courses in rational antibiotic prescribing, guidelines, patient information leaflets, workshops on rapid tests -rapid antigen detection and C-reactive protein tests- and provision of these tests in the surgeries; and partial intervention, consisting of all the above intervention except for the workshop and they did not have access to rapid tests. The same registry was repeated in 2009 (postintervention). In addition, new physicians filled out only the registry in 2009 (control group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  210 physicians underwent the full intervention, 71 the partial intervention and 59 were assigned to the control group. The 340 doctors prescribed antibiotics in 274 episodes of a total of 12,373 cases registered (2.2%).The greatest percentage of antibiotic prescription was found in the control group (4.6%). The partial intervention increased the antibiotic prescription percentage from 1.1% to 2.7% while only doctors who underwent the complete intervention lead to a significant reduction of antibiotics prescribed, from 2.9% before to 0.7% after the intervention (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Only physicians with access to rapid tests significantly reduced antibiotic prescription in patients with common cold.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Atención Primaria Jaume I, Tarragona, Universidad Rovira i Virgili, Spain. carles.llor@urv.net
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Llor
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: Josep María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cots
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bjerrum
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Juan de Dios
authors.initials: Jde D
authors.lastname: Alcántara
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cid
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arranz
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Monedero
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paredes
authors.forename: Vicenta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pineda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003133:Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities / Q000458:organization & administration; D003139:Common Cold / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012042:Registries; D013030:Spain; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents