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Delayed prescription reduced antibiotic use in the common cold

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Design
Randomised {allocation concealed^*}, blinded (patients),^* controlled trial with 10-day follow up.

Setting
A family practice with 15 physicians in Auckland, New Zealand.

Patients
129 patients (mean age 25 y, 63% women) presenting with a new cold in which the patient requested or the physician thought the patient wanted antibiotics. Exclusion criteria were suspected tonsillitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, or pneumonia; lower respiratory signs; indication for an x-ray; history of rheumatic fever; serious illness; or antibiotic treatment in the previous 2 weeks. 95% completed the trial.

Intervention
67 patients received a prescription for antibiotics with instructions to fill it after 3 days if symptoms failed to improve, and 62 patients received a prescription with instructions to start taking the antibiotic immediately. Patients in both groups were advised to return to their physician if symptoms worsened.

Main outcome measures
Antibiotic use (taking 1 dose), symptoms scores, and satisfaction.

Main results
Patients in the delayed-prescription group (27 of 56) were less . . . [Full text of this article]

Chris B. Del Mar, Mb BChir MD

University of Queensland
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia