Table 3 Antibiotic prescribing practices in the five-year period from 2013 to 2017, overall and for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and sore throat
URTI, N (%) | Sore Throat, N (%) | Total Visits, N (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Total presentations | 41,532 | 5,862 | 722,339 |
Prescribed any antibiotic | 15,057 (36.3%) | 3,876 (66.1%) | 83,938 (11.6%) |
Therapeutic Guidelines recommended antibiotics | |||
Total | 2,834 (18.8%) | 2,222 (57.3%) | 17,037 (20.3%) |
Phenoxymethylpenicillin | 1,833 (12.2%) | 1,685 (43.5%) | 2,581 (3.1%) |
Benzylpenicillin | 376 (2.5%) | 367 (9.5%) | 532 (0.6%) |
Cefalexin | 571 (3.8%) | 157 (4.1%) | 12,281 (14.6%) |
Azithromycin | 54 (0.4%) | 13 (0.3%) | 1,643 (2.0%) |
Key antibiotics prescribed but not recommended by Therapeutic Guidelines | |||
Amoxicillin | 5,944 (39.5%) | 897 (23.1%) | 18,111 (21.6%) |
Amoxicillin clavulanic acid | 1,661 (11.0%) | 179 (4.6%) | 7,621 (9.1%) |
Roxithromycin | 1,079 (7.2%) | 108 (2.8%) | 3,501 (4.2 %) |
Cefaclor | 254 (1.7%) | 22 (0.6%) | 1,051 (1.3%) |
Doxycycline | 97 (0.6%) | 1 (0.03%) | 962 (1.1%) |