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Prescription behaviours of office‐based doctors to standardized common cold patients in Korea
Author(s) -
Cho H. J.,
Kim C. B.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.023
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1099-1557
pISSN - 1053-8569
DOI - 10.1002/pds.718
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , antibiotics , common cold , family medicine , alternative medicine , pharmacoepidemiology , emergency medicine , pediatrics , pharmacology , pathology , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , biology
Purpose To investigate real pictures of prescription behaviours of office‐based doctors in Korea, especially focusing on the prescription of oral antibiotics and injections. Methods Prescription information was collected from 18 standardized patients (SPs) with the symptoms of the common cold who visited doctors' office. Results For these patients antibiotics were prescribed by 96 doctors (64.7%) out of 148 and the rate of antibiotic prescription increased with age of doctors, increasing number of medicines, and cost of medicines. Analgesics were most frequently prescribed (91.8%), and gastrointestinal drugs (81.6%), antitussivies (61.2%), antithistamines (61.2%), decongestants (59.2%), mucolytics (51.0%) and proteolytic enzymes (32.7%) followed. More than half of the doctors intended to give injections to the patients, which was higher among internists and doctors prescribed more medicines. Conclusions Antibiotics and injections were frequently prescribed for mild common colds in Korea. Action to ensure judicious use of antibiotics and injection is urgent. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.