Scandinavian journal of primary health care
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Mar 2019
Prescription of antibiotics for urinary tract infection in general practice in Denmark.
The aim of this study was to describe and characterize the prescription of antibiotics for urinary tract infection (UTI) in general practice in Denmark and to evaluate compliance with current recommendations. ⋯ Compliance with current Danish recommendations was moderately high. Pivmecillinam is the first line antibiotic for the management of acute lower and upper UTI, and trimethroprim is the first line option of recurrent UTI. A high proportion of the antibiotic prescriptions were issued in the elderly population including a relatively high prescription rate of quinolones. Key points Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common cause for prescription of antibiotics in general practice Poor compliance in general practice with recommendations for first-line treatment of UTI may increase antibiotic resistance Danish general practitioners are generally compliant with national and regional guidelines for antibiotic treatment of UTI There is high use of antibiotics in the elderly population including a worrisome high use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as Quinolones.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Mar 2019
Requirements for implementing online information material for patients with low back pain in general practice: an interview study.
To identify general practitioners' (GPs) barriers and facilitators regarding the use of health information technology (HIT) in the treatment of patients with low back pain (LBP). ⋯ When designing health IT applications for patients with LBP in general practice it is important to include both patients and GPs in the design process. GPs would be more willing to recommend a HIT application that: applies content in line with frequently used recommendations; targets patients; supports patients' self-management; and supports the patients' needs. KEY POINTS Online information is currently applied in general practice to some patients with low back pain Online information cannot replace the GP, but can rather be a bonding tool between the patient and the GP It is important to address both GP and patient barriers to applying new technology and to consider the literacy level Participatory methods could play a central role in the future development of online information material.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Mar 2019
Comparative StudySampling of urine for diagnosing urinary tract infection in general practice - First-void or mid-stream urine?
To study 1) whether the accuracy of point-of-care (POC) urine tests (dipstick, phase-contrast microscopy and culture) differs when performed on first-void urine (FVU) compared to mid-stream urine (MSU), and 2) if a delay of analysis up to four hours affects the accuracy of POC tests when performed on urine from symptomatic of urinary tract infection (UTI), non-pregnant women in general practice. ⋯ All three POC tests performed on MSU were significantly more in agreement with the reference than when performed on FVU when analysis was done immediately. The error rate was 16% for MSU vs. 23% for FVU with POC culture, 27% vs. 40% with microscopy and 25% vs. 33% with dipstick testing. Delay of analysis up to four hours did not decrease agreement with the reference. Conclusion/Implication: MSU samples should be used in general practice for optimal accuracy of POC tests. Analysis can be delayed up to four hours. Key points Point-of-care tests (dipstick testing, microscopy and culture) for diagnosing urinary tract infection performed on mid-stream urine samples are significantly more accurate than when performed on first-void urine samples. Delay of analysis up to four hours did not decrease the accuracy of any of the point-of-care tests. Point-of-care culture was more accurate than dipstick and microscopy both when performed on mid-stream urine and first-void urine The main contaminant in first-void urine samples was Enterococci spp., which contributed to the majority of false positives.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Mar 2019
Comparative Study Clinical TrialGiving callers the option to bypass the telephone waiting line in out-of-hours services: a comparative intervention study.
Acute out-of-hours (OOH) healthcare is challenged by potentially long waiting time for callers in acute need of medical aid. OOH callers must usually wait in line, even when contacting for highly urgent or life-threatening conditions. We tested an emergency access button (EAB), which allowed OOH callers to bypass the waiting line if they perceived their health problem as severe. We aimed to investigate EAB use and patient characteristics associated with this use. ⋯ Only about 3% of all callers chose to bypass the waiting line in the OOH service when given the option. This study suggests that the EAB could serve as a new and simple tool to reduce the waiting time for severely ill patients in an OOH service telephone triage setting. Key Points Acute out-of-hours healthcare is challenged by overcrowding and increasing demand for services. This study shows that only approximately 3% of callers chose to bypass the telephone waiting queue when given the opportunity through an emergency access button. An emergency access button may serve as a new tool to help reduce the triage waiting time for severely ill patients in out-of-hours medical facilities.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Mar 2019
Quality of out-of-hours telephone triage by general practitioners and nurses: development and testing of the AQTT - an assessment tool measuring communication, patient safety and efficiency.
To develop a valid and reliable assessment tool able to measure quality of communication, patient safety and efficiency in out-of-hours (OOH) telephone triage conducted by both general practitioners (GP) and nurses. ⋯ The AQTT demonstrated high face, content and construct validity, satisfactory test-retest reliability, reduced inter-rater reliability, but satisfactory percent agreement when differentiating between 'poor' and 'sufficient' quality. The AQTT was found feasible and clinically relevant for assessing the quality of GP- and nurse-led OOH-TT. KEYPOINTS Comparative knowledge is sparse regarding quality of out-of-hours telephone triage conducted by general practitioners and nurses. The assessment tool (AQTT) enables assessment of quality in OOH telephone triage conducted by nurses and general practitioners AQTT is feasible and clinically relevant for assessment of communication, patient safety and efficiency. AQTT can be used to identify areas for improvement in telephone triage.