Ncube, NondumisoSolanki, G.C.Kredo, T.Lalloo, R.2017-03-132017-03-132017Ncube, N. et al. (2017). Antibiotic prescription patterns of South African general medical practitioners for treatment of acute bronchitis. South African Medical Journal, 107(2): 119-1220256-9574http://hdl.handle.net/10566/2619http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2017.v107i2.11276Background: Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health problem. Prudent use of antibiotics is crucial in reducing this resistance. Acute bronchitis is a common reason for consultations with general medical practitioners, and antibiotics are often prescribed even though guidelines recommend not prescribing them for uncomplicated acute bronchitis. Objective: To analyse the antibiotic prescription patterns of South African (SA) general medical practitioners in the treatment of acute bronchitis. Methods: The 2013 claims for members of 11 health insurance schemes were analysed to assess antibiotic prescription patterns for patients diagnosed with acute bronchitis. The patterns were assessed by type of bronchitis, chronic health status of the patients, sex and age group. The types of antibiotic prescribed were also analysed. Results: Of 166 821 events analysed, an antibiotic was prescribed in more than half (52.9%). There were significant differences by type of bronchitis and chronic health status. Patients with viral bronchitis were more likely to be prescribed an antibiotic than those with bacterial bronchitis (odds ratio (OR) 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08 - 1.26). Patients with a chronic illness were less likely to be prescribed an antibiotic than those without (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.57 - 0.60). More than 70% of the antibiotics prescribed were cephalosporins, penicillins and other beta-lactams. Conclusions: Prescription rates of antibiotics for acute bronchitis by SA general medical practitioners are high. There is an urgent need to follow the guidelines for antibiotic use for acute bronchitis to reduce the likelihood of increasing resistance to available antibiotics.enThe South African Journal Medical Journal is an Open Access Journal and provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. In accordance with the definition of the Budapest Open Access Initiative all content published by the SAMJ is made free to users without any subscription or other charges. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of these articles, or use them for any other lawful, non-commercial purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.Acute bronchitisAntibioticsPrescribing patternsArticle