RT Journal Article
T1 Pharmaceutical companies information and antibiotic prescription patterns: A follow-up study in Spanish primary care
A1 Fernández Álvarez, Iria
A1 Zapata Cachafeiro, Maruxa
A1 Vázquez Lago, Juan M.
A1 López Vázquez, Paula María
A1 Piñeiro Lamas, María
A1 García Rodríguez, Raquel
A1 Figueiras Guzmán, Adolfo
A1 GREPHEPI Group, 
AB Objectives : To assess the impact of sources of drug information on antibiotic prescribing patterns (quantity and quality) among primary care physicians.Methods : We conducted a cohort study on primary care physicians who were actively engaged in medical practice in 2010 in a region in north-west Spain (Galicia), fulfilling inclusion criteria (n = 2100). As the independent variable, we took the perceived utility of 6 sources of information on antibiotics, as measured by the validated KAAR-11 questionnaire. As dependent variables, we used: (1) a quality indicator (appropriate quality, defined as any case where 6 of the 12 indicators proposed by the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network [ESAC-Net] were better than the mean values for Spain); and, (2) a quantity indicator (high prescribing), defined as any case where defined daily doses (DDD) per 1 000 inhabitants per day of antibacterials for systemic use were higher than the mean values for Spain. The adjusted odds ratio for a change in the interquartile range (IqOR) for each sources of information on antibiotics was calculated using Generalized Linear Mixed Models.Results : The questionnaire response rate was 68%. Greater perceived utility of pharmaceutical sales representatives increases the risk of having high prescribing (1/IqOR = 2.50 [95%CI: 1.63–3.66]) and reduces the probability of having appropriate quality (1/IqOR = 2.28 [95%CI: 1.77–3.01]). Greater perceived utility of clinical guidelines increases the probability of having appropriate quality (1/IqOR = 1.25 [95%CI: 1.02–1.54]) and reduces the probability of high prescribing (1/IqOR = 1.25 [95%CI: 1.02–1.54]).Conclusions : Sources of information on antibiotics are an important determinant of the quantity and quality of antibiotic prescribing in primary care. Commercial sources of information influence prescribing negatively, and clinical guidelines are associated with better indicators.
PB PLOS
YR 2019
FD 2019
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21544
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21544
LA eng
NO Fernandez-Alvarez, I., Zapata-Cachafeiro, M., Vazquez-Lago, J., Lopez-Vazquez, P., Pineiro-Lamas, M., Garcia Rodriguez, R., & Figueiras, A. (2019). Pharmaceutical companies information and antibiotic prescription patterns: A follow-up study in spanish primary care. PLoS ONE, 14(8) doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221326
NO This work was supported in part by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI081239, PI09/90609) Spanish State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2012-2016, The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Mutua Madrileña insurance company
DS Minerva
RD 29 abr 2026