ANTIBIOTIC USE IN THE GREEK COMMUNITY: TIME FOR ANTIBIOTIC POLICY?
Lelekis M., Zelentias I., Economou E., Adams G., Kosmidis J.
First Dept of Medicine, The General Hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas”,
GREECE

The aim of the study was to record the way antibiotics are used in the community in order to see if there is a need for antibiotic policy. A total of 300 persons completed a questionnaire recording the use or not of antibiotics in the preceding month, the indication for any use, the person who suggested it, the way of getting the antibiotic and the name of the antibiotic.

Antibiotic use was recorded in 27% of the persons who answered (43% in the age over 70 years). The main indication was symptoms of the respiratory tract (33%) while for 27% the indication was the existence of fever only. The antibiotic was suggested by a doctor in 75% of cases, in 1/3 of which, however, without physical examination (mostly by telephone) and without prescription.

The antibiotics used were: penicillins (33%), quinolones (16%), 2nd generation cephalosporins (14%), macrolides (14%), 3rd generation cephalosporins (2%), other (7%), unknown (14%).

In conclusion: A great number of patients (~50%) uses antibiotics without prescription and many times without even consultation of a doctor. This must be corrected. Among new antibiotics there is considerable use of quinolones. There is a need for formulation of a policy for community antibiotic prescribing.

Follow-up and tertiary prevention
Isabel Santos, MD. Antalya, 21 October, 1996

Abstract

Prevention and surveillance are increasingly important aspects of General Practice but for being successful it is necessary to be systematic.

Regarding infectious diseases the position of GPs is neither easy nor simple. Their role is multiple and with a variable importance.

Morbidity for infectious diseases in PHC ranges from 13 to 20% in European countries. Among the twenty most common reasons for visits to family physicians almost 20% may be related with some sort of infectious disease.

Therefore the knowledge of common infections, complications, their prevalence, predisposing factors, prognosis and treatment is essential to the provision of care in General Practice.

So forth this presentation deals with the broader issues of treating infectious diseases, while providing a number of practical clinical examples to demonstrate rational therapeutics. We underline that despite the extraordinary recent advances that have occurred in therapeutics for infectious diseases there are a number of basic principles that should be followed in order to appropriately prescribe any sort of antimicrobials and that albeit their striking therapeutic results they also may create serious untoward reactions and should therefore be administered only upon proper indication.