A survey of primary care physician practices in antibiotic prescribing for the treatment of uncomplicated male gonoccocal urethritis
2011

Antibiotic Prescribing Practices for Male Gonococcal Urethritis

Sample size: 350 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Falchi Alessandra, Lasserre Andrea, Gallay Anne, Blanchon Thierry, Sednaoui Patrice, Lassau François, Massari Veronique, Turbelin Clément, Hanslik Thomas

Primary Institution: INSERM, UMPC UMR-S 707, Paris, France

Hypothesis

What are the antibiotic prescribing practices of French general practitioners for uncomplicated male gonococcal urethritis?

Conclusion

There is a significant mismatch between the recommended guidelines and the actual antibiotic treatments prescribed by French general practitioners for male uncomplicated urethritis.

Supporting Evidence

  • Only 20.2% of GPs prescribed the recommended antibiotics for co-infections.
  • 40.4% of GPs prescribed non-recommended antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin.
  • GPs with less than 10 years of practice showed better compliance with guidelines.

Takeaway

Doctors in France are not following the recommended treatments for a common infection in men, which could lead to more problems with antibiotic resistance.

Methodology

A cross-sectional survey using a clinical vignette sent to a random sample of 1000 French general practitioners.

Potential Biases

Physicians may have answered in a way that reflects what they think is desirable rather than their actual practices.

Limitations

The study relied on self-reported data, used only one clinical scenario, and had a low response rate which may limit generalizability.

Participant Demographics

Responders were predominantly male (83.4%) with a mean age of 52 years.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2296-12-35

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