397 THE OCCURRENCE AND TREATMENT OF IMPETIGO IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Impetigo occurs mostly in children; often in small epidemics. Little is known about the treatment of this disorder by the GP and opinions about the use of systemic antibiotics differ. In this study we answered the following questions: - How often is impetigo presented in general practice by children (0-14 years) and are there differences in gender, age, region, urbanisation and season? - How often does a GP treat impetigo with an antibiotic and are there differences in age, gender and reason for encounter? We used data of the Dutch National Survey of Morbidity and Interventions in General Practice, in which 161 GPs registered every contact between patient and practice during 3 months. Working hypothesis were coded using the ICPC. For impetigo we selected all episodes ending with an ICPC-code S84. We calculated an incidence rate of 19.5 per 1000 personyears (323 impetigo episodes in 64 000 children). Differences were found in season and region. Children at the age of 4 and 5 years present the most impetigo. The GP prescribed in 69 % of all episodes an antibiotic (23% local and 36% systemic). Gender, age and reason for encounter are not related to prescription rate. Considering the mild course of this disorder it is treated with antibiotics rather often by Dutch GPs.