Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics
Background: Over-prescription of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is a continuing problem in Malaysia, leading to increased antimicrobial resistance and unnecessary cost incurred for treatment. In a patient presenting with a sore throat, it is recommended to only prescribe an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia
2022
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100286/ |
| _version_ | 1848863284336263168 |
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| author | Muthanna, AbdulRahman Zakariah, Siti Zulaikha Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Shariff Ghazali,, Sazlina Awang Hamat, Rukman Mawardi, Maliza Salim, Hani Syahida Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana |
| author_facet | Muthanna, AbdulRahman Zakariah, Siti Zulaikha Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Shariff Ghazali,, Sazlina Awang Hamat, Rukman Mawardi, Maliza Salim, Hani Syahida Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana |
| author_sort | Muthanna, AbdulRahman |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Over-prescription of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is a continuing problem in Malaysia, leading to increased antimicrobial resistance and unnecessary cost incurred for treatment. In a patient presenting with a sore throat, it is recommended to only prescribe antibiotics to group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis confirmed by a throat culture, rapid antigen test or in patients with a Centor score of 4. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the proportion of antibiotics prescribed and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of GAS pharyngitis in the Malaysian primary care setting. Two-hundred and fifteen adult patients presenting with sore throat were recruited in three primary care clinics. Demographic data and clinical information were collected and analysed. Centor scores were calculated according to the clinical information and throat swabs were collected from all participants for GAS identification.
Results: Only six throat swabs isolated GAS and indicated for antimicrobial treatment (2.8%). However, 48 participants (22.3%) were prescribed antibiotics out of which only four (8.3%) patients with isolated GAS, including three (6.2%) patients who clinically had a Centor score of 4 and one patient with a score of 3. Amoxicillin and erythromycin were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics (58.3% and 25% of all antibiotics, respectively). Conclusion: There is a high proportion of antibiotic prescriptions which were not indicated in patients with sore throat in this study. This may reflect a common practice of antibiotic overuse for sore throat in primary care settings in Malaysia. Concerted interventions to reduce the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics are urgently needed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:30:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-100286 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:30:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1002862024-03-18T03:22:22Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100286/ Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics Muthanna, AbdulRahman Zakariah, Siti Zulaikha Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Shariff Ghazali,, Sazlina Awang Hamat, Rukman Mawardi, Maliza Salim, Hani Syahida Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana Background: Over-prescription of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is a continuing problem in Malaysia, leading to increased antimicrobial resistance and unnecessary cost incurred for treatment. In a patient presenting with a sore throat, it is recommended to only prescribe antibiotics to group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis confirmed by a throat culture, rapid antigen test or in patients with a Centor score of 4. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the proportion of antibiotics prescribed and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of GAS pharyngitis in the Malaysian primary care setting. Two-hundred and fifteen adult patients presenting with sore throat were recruited in three primary care clinics. Demographic data and clinical information were collected and analysed. Centor scores were calculated according to the clinical information and throat swabs were collected from all participants for GAS identification. Results: Only six throat swabs isolated GAS and indicated for antimicrobial treatment (2.8%). However, 48 participants (22.3%) were prescribed antibiotics out of which only four (8.3%) patients with isolated GAS, including three (6.2%) patients who clinically had a Centor score of 4 and one patient with a score of 3. Amoxicillin and erythromycin were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics (58.3% and 25% of all antibiotics, respectively). Conclusion: There is a high proportion of antibiotic prescriptions which were not indicated in patients with sore throat in this study. This may reflect a common practice of antibiotic overuse for sore throat in primary care settings in Malaysia. Concerted interventions to reduce the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics are urgently needed. Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia 2022-02 Article PeerReviewed Muthanna, AbdulRahman and Zakariah, Siti Zulaikha and Abdul Rashid, Aneesa and Shariff Ghazali,, Sazlina and Awang Hamat, Rukman and Mawardi, Maliza and Salim, Hani Syahida and Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana (2022) Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 29 (1). 91 - 100. ISSN 1394-195X; ESSN: 2180-4303 http://www.mjms.usm.my/MJMSvol29no1.html 10.21315/mjms2022.29.1.9 |
| spellingShingle | Muthanna, AbdulRahman Zakariah, Siti Zulaikha Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Shariff Ghazali,, Sazlina Awang Hamat, Rukman Mawardi, Maliza Salim, Hani Syahida Shamsuddin, Nurainul Hana Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics |
| title | Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics |
| title_full | Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics |
| title_fullStr | Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics |
| title_short | Antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in Malaysian public primary care clinics |
| title_sort | antibiotic prescribing patterns for patients with pharyngitis in malaysian public primary care clinics |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100286/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100286/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100286/ |