Antibiotic prescription practices for common infections and knowledge about antibiotic costs by private-practice pediatricians in Greece.
OBJECTIVE
Greece is among the European countries with the highest antibiotic consumption in the community. We investigated the antibiotic prescription practices by private-practice paediatricians, using the 2007 national guidelines for antibiotic use as the gold standard.


METHODS
A standardized questionnaire was distributed to 520 private-practice pediatricians. There were 6 scenarios about common infections.


RESULTS
A total of 124 pediatricians participated (23.8% response rate). Compliance with the first recommended antibiotic was 48% for streptococcal pharyngitis, 30.6% for community-acquired pneumonia, 12.4% for urinary tract infection, 67.8% for bacterial skin infection, 48.8% for acute otitis media, and 18.2% for bacterial pneumonia. The highest variation in antibiotic prescription concerned the community-acquired pneumonia scenario (11 antibiotics, including 6 beyond the guidelines). The overall mean compliance rate with the first recommended antibiotic was 37.4%. The mean compliance rates were 49.2%, 36.4%, 35.8%, and 27.5% in the <40, 41-50, 51-60, and >60 years age groups, respectively (P value<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Five years after the first guidelines about antibiotic use were issued in Greece, a wide range of antibiotic prescription practices by private-practice pediatricians was discovered, with only one every three pediatricians complying fully with them.
Department for Interventions in Health‑Care Facilities Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Athens, Greece - helen-maltezou@ath.forthnet.gr.
H C
HC
Maltezou
P
P
Katerelos
H
H
Asimaki
E
E
Roilides
M
M
Theodoridou
D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010372:Pediatrics; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011331:Private Practice; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents