Abstract

IGLESIAS, Jesús Feris et al. Antibiotic prescription practices before and after an educational intervention in a country where the re-certification process is not obligatory. Revista médica Risaralda [online]. 2015, vol.21, n.1, pp.75-77. ISSN 0122-0667.

Background: The trend in increased antibiotic prescription practices has been associated with higher health care costs and antibiotic resistance. This study examined the adequate or inappropriate antibiotic prescribing practices of health professionals, who work in public and private health centers in the Dominican Republic (DR), before and after their participation in an educational intervention. Methods: Using self-administered questionnaires developed by the Alliance for the Prudential Use of Antibiotics (APUA), this quasi-experimental study evaluated the responses of physicians before (n=525) and after (n=364) their participation in an educational intervention, from August 2006 to February 2007 and March to August 2008, respectively. Statistical analyses included simple proportions, odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (IC95%). Alpha was set at 0.05. Results: Post-intervention responses improved understanding significantly regarding specific situations for the prescription of cephalosporins, penicillins, macrolides, quinolones, vancomycin and aminoglycosides. Physicians were more likely to respond incorrectly at baseline than post-intervention for cephalosporins (OR=4.2; IC95%:2.9-6.1; p=0.00001), penicillins (OR=1.9; IC95%:1.2-2.9; p=0.006), quinolones (OR=4.0; IC95%:2.5-6.6; p=0.00001)), macrolides (OR: 4.9 IC95%:3.0-7.9; p= 0,00001 vancomycin (OR=2.2; IC95%: 1.2-4.1; p=0.009) and aminoglycosides (OR=2.1; IC95%:1.3-3.3; p=0.002). Conclusions: Educational interventions for health professionals can improve knowledge when designed to target specific topics, including appropriate antibiotic prescribing practices in health centers. These findings reflect the need to initiate a re-certification process for Dominican physicians, which may impact the quality of attention for the users of health services in the DR.

Keywords : Continued medical education; Re-certification; Antibiotics.

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