Patient profile and antibiotic use in a dedicated upper respiratory tract infection clinic based in a primary healthcare setting during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: A cross sectional study
Autor: | Zhi Yin Ooi, Nurul Abidah Mohd Ghazali, Nang Juniza Nik Zahari, Huan Keat Chan, Norsiah Md Noor, Noor Liani Harun, Mohd Firdaus Abu Bakar, Mohd Redhuan Abdul Muin |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2022 |
Předmět: | |
Zdroj: | Malaysian Family Physician, Vol 17, Iss 3, Pp 74-83 (2022) |
Druh dokumentu: | article |
ISSN: | 1985-207X 1985-2274 |
DOI: | 10.51866/oa.38 |
Popis: | Introduction: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is commonly encountered at the primary care level. Its management is particularly challenging due to the similarity of its symptoms to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Our study evaluated the profiles and antibiotic use of patients seeking care from a dedicated community-based URTI clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were obtained from the medical records of patients visiting the URTI clinic at the Alor Setar Primary Healthcare Centre between March and April 2020. Results: Overall, 587/4388 (13.3%) patients received treatment at the URTI clinic. Most patients were male (60.6%) and aged between 20 and 39 years (35.5%). Their most common symptoms were cough (68.4%), fever (31.6%), runny nose (24.6%), and sore throat (24.1%). Most patients were diagnosed with acute nasopharyngitis (52.5%), acute pharyngitis (18.6%), or acute tonsillitis (5.3%). The symptomatic medication prescription rate was 96.5%. Only 26 of the 435 patients diagnosed with URTI received antibiotics, yielding an antibiotic use rate of only 6.0% for URTI relative to overall drug use. Acute tonsillitis was more common in children |
Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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