BACKGROUND Since 1997, UK guidance has advocated limiting antibiotic prescribing for otitis media. It is not known whether this has influenced general practitioner prescribing practice. Aims and objectives To investigate the trends in diagnoses and antibiotic prescribing for otitis media in children in relation to guidance. METHODS We used the General Practice Research Database to conduct tim...

OBJECTIVE To develop a practitioner led definition of a prescribing error for use in prevalence/incidence studies in paediatric practice. DESIGN A two stage Delphi technique was used to obtain the views of a panel of expert health professionals working in the hospital paediatric setting. The extent of their agreement on a definition of a prescribing error, and on 40 scenarios that might be cl...

BACKGROUND The number of inappropriate prescriptions for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Sudan is suspected to be high. Simple multifaceted interventions directed at prescribers may improve prescribing patterns in the Sudan. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of multifaceted interventions on prescribing for STIs in the White Nile State, Sudan. METHODS The study involved 20 health ce...

Antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem in paediatric practice. General practitioners in the United Kingdom have consequently been exhorted to minimise antibiotic prescribing for childhood upper respiratory infections. However, some data suggest an association between reduced prescribing and an increased incidence of rare complications of bacterial infection. We report national data on c...