title: The match between common antibiotics packaging and guidelines for their use in Australia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the potential for a source of surplus antibiotics in the community to come from the mismatch between the recommended duration of antibiotic treatment for common indications in primary care and that dictated by default pharmaceutical industry packaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of existing published information of: 1) the most common antibiotics prescribed in primary care in Australia; 2) their most common indications; 3) the guideline recommendations for their duration; and 4) the duration dictated by antibiotic packaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 32 common antibiotic prescribing scenarios, 10 had doses left over in surplus and 18 had a shortfall, leaving only four in which the packaging size matched the duration recommended by electronic Therapeutic Guidelines. Where there was a shortfall, this was only exactly accommodated by a repeat prescription in two cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mismatch contributes to a shortfall or excess of doses compared to recommended antibiotic treatment protocols and probably exaggerates redundant doses in the community from prescribed antibiotics dispensed and not consumed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prescribers need to be aware that the mismatch between antibiotic pack sizes and guideline recommendations for their duration is contributing to antibiotic resistance in the community.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice (CREBP), Bond University, Queensland.|School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland.
authors.forename: Treasure M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice (CREBP), Bond University, Queensland.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice (CREBP), Bond University, Queensland.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Del Mar
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001315:Australia; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004348:Drug Labeling; D004349:Drug Packaging; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: antibiotic resistance; drug utilisation; infectious diseases; pharmacology; prescribing