Antibiotic prescriptions in primary health care in a rural population in Crete, Greece

Nikolaos Kontarakis,Ioanna G Tsiligianni,Vasilios Moustakis,Polyvios Papadokostakis,Evangelia Giannopoulou,Loukas Tsironis

doi:10.1186/1756-0500-4-38

Nikolaos Kontarakis, Ioanna G Tsiligianni + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-4-38

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Abstract

BackgroundAntibiotic over-prescribing has generally been considered to be common in Greece, however not much is known about current antibiotic use.FindingsThe aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic prescribing in a well-defined rural population of 159 adults and 99 children over a 12-month period in Crete, Greece. The daily-defined doses (DDD) for 1000 people/day (DID) were 22.1 and 24.2 for children and adults respectively. The overall DID was 23.4, markedly lower than that previously reported for Greece. The use of penicillins was 49.5% of DDD in children and 31.7% in adults. Quinolones represented 2.2% of the total antibiotics (0% in children). Prescriptions of antibiotics were more common during the 3-month period from January to March for both children and adults.ConclusionsThe findings of this study confirm the seasonal distribution of antibiotics used and the predominance of prescribing for respiratory tract infections. In the area of the study, antibiotic use seems to be lower than that previously reported for Greece, probably as a result of the recently established net of well-trained primary health physicians.

Highlights

Antibiotic over-prescribing has generally been considered to be common in Greece, not much is known about current antibiotic use
The findings of this study confirm the seasonal distribution of antibiotics used and the predominance of prescribing for respiratory tract infections
In the area of the study, antibiotic use seems to be lower than that previously reported for Greece, probably as a result of the recently established net of well-trained primary health physicians

Summary

Introduction

Antibiotic over-prescribing has generally been considered to be common in Greece, not much is known about current antibiotic use. Antibiotic prescribing in primary care rose steadily during the last decade world-wide, in many European countries [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Primary health care practitioners have been shown to account for the majority of antibiotic prescribing [3]. Greece is among the European countries with the highest antibiotic prescribing and resistance to bacteria [3,4]. The aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic use in primary health care in a region of Crete for a period of 12 months as well as to highlight the important role of the family physicians

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