Korppi M, Palmu S, Heikkilä P, Csonka P. Antibiotic prescriptions for child sinusitis varied between specialties after Finnish guidelines were updated in 2018.
Acta Paediatr 2022;
112:1041-1048. [PMID:
36562286 DOI:
10.1111/apa.16641]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
AIM
We evaluated antibiotic prescriptions issued for Finnish children with acute sinusitis by a nationwide private outpatient clinic network from 2014-2020. Data were compared before and after updated guidelines in 2018.
METHODS
The study comprised data on 45 296 children aged 2-17 years with acute sinusitis, namely diagnoses, ages, dates, the doctor's specialty and any antibiotics. We measured compliance with the updated 2018 Finnish guidelines, which recommended amoxicillin or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid for children under 12 years old, with doxycycline as an alternative for 12 years plus.
RESULTS
There were 6621-7585 visits per year for acute sinusitis in 2014-2019 and 2954 in 2020. Antibiotics were prescribed for 37.9%-41.6% of patients during the study years. Amoxicillin, including penicillin, accounted for 35.9% of prescriptions, followed by amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (26.9%). Macrolides accounted for 20.6% and, encouragingly, decreased by 38% from 2014-2019. Doxycycline accounted for 5.3%. Paediatricians, general practitioners (GPs) and ear, nose and throat specialists followed the guidelines in 75.1%, 73.8% and 66.7% of cases, respectively. GPs prescribed antibiotics more often than other physicians.
CONCLUSION
Antibiotics were prescribed for about 40% of acute sinusitis visits by Finnish children from 2014-2019. Specialities differed with regard to prescribing rates and whether they followed the guidelines.
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