Implementation of the delayed antibiotic prescribing strategy. Prospective observation study in primary care

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the actual consumption of antibiotics among patients issued delayed antibiotic prescribing with the consumption observed in a non-systematic review of studies on delayed prescribing. METHODS: Observational study carried out in three primary care centres from September 2018 until March 2020. We tracked the electronic records of the 82 patients with episodes of acute bronchitis and 44 acute pharyngitis who were given a patient-led delayed prescription to determine whether the prescription was filled and when this medication was obtained. RESULTS: The prescriptions were never filled in 50 cases (39.7%), but five patients took another antibiotic within the first two weeks. Out of 76 patients who did take the delayed prescription, only 12 obtained the medication based on the instructions given by the doctors (15.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The strategy of delayed antibiotic prescribing resulted in a reduction in antibiotic use, but this reduction was lower than in randomised clinical trials, being comparable to the results obtained with other observational studies on delayed antibiotic prescribing. In addition, only a few patients adhered to the doctors’ instructions.