title: [Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in a primary care area: a cross-sectional study].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the profile of patients receiving antibiotics and the appropriateness of these prescriptions for the clinical conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study of prescription-indication.
  
  
  METHODS
  A primary health care area in Andalusia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients assigned to primary care centres. Patients with antibiotic prescriptions during 2009 were selected by simple random sampling (confidence level: 95%, accuracy: 5%). Primary endpoint: appropriateness of antibiotics prescribing to recommendations included in local guidelines. Data were obtained through the billing computerised prescriptions system and medical histories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five per cent of the population area received antibiotics during 2009. The 1,266 patient samples showed the following characteristics: 57.9% were women, with a mean age of 41 (±1) years. There were 39.3% pensioners. The percentage of appropriate antibiotic prescriptions was 19.9%, with no difference due to gender. Statistically significant differences were related to age, being those over 65 years the group of patients with the highest percentage of inappropriateness. The main reasons for inappropriateness were: no recording of the infectious process (44.5%), a wrong treatment duration (15.5%), and the use of an inadequate antibiotic (11.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a high level of inappropriateness in antibiotic prescribing in primary care. The high level of under-recording of diagnoses, mainly in elderly patients, followed by the use of wrong schedules, and the wrong type of antibiotics were the main reasons of inappropriateness.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Distrito Aljarafe, Sevilla, España. Electronic address: rocio.fernandez.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández-Urrusuno
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Distrito Aljarafe, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: Macarena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flores-Dorado
authors.affiliation: Área de Epidemiólogía, Distrito Sanitario Sevilla, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vilches-Arenas
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Microbiología, Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe, Bormujos, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serrano-Martino
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe, Bormujos, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Corral-Baena
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Distrito Aljarafe, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: M Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Montero-Balosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Antibiotics; Antibióticos; Appropriate prescription; Atención primaria; Enfermedades infecciosas; Infections; Prescripción adecuada; Primary care