Greatest predictor of antibiotic prescribing practices is geographic location
FRIDAY, April 24, 2015 (HealthDay News) — There is considerable worldwide variation in antibiotic prescribing practices following eyelid surgery, according to a study published online April 23 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Aaron Fay, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues surveyed 2,397 oculoplastic surgeons in 43 countries to determine standard care and assess factors influencing antibiotic prescribing practices. Data were analyzed for the 782 responses by geographical location.
The researchers found that in all regions, topical antibiotic use was common (85.2 percent) and perioperative intravenous antibiotic use was uncommon (13.5 percent). The greatest predictor of antibiotic prescribing practices was geographic location (ranging from 2.9 percent in the United Kingdom to 86.7 percent in India; mean, 24 percent). Practice locations that correlated with routinely prescribing postoperative oral antibiotics were India, Venezuela, and Southeast Asia (odds ratios, 15.83, 13.47, and 2.80, respectively). In contrast, decreased rates of postoperative oral antibiotic use were seen for practice locations in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and the United States and Canada (odds ratios, 0.048, 0.15, and 0.41, respectively). Surgeons’ concern for allergic reactions and infection correlated with decreased and increased rates of prescribing antibiotics, respectively (odds ratios, 0.34 and 1.80, respectively).
“These results could provide additional evidence for surgeons to consider when deciding on the benefits and risks of prophylactic antibiotics in an individual patient, especially considering the mounting evidence of the detriments of such prescribing,” the authors write.
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