Impact of the presence of chronic diseases on compliance of antibiotic prescriptions with the provincial clinical guideline for the treatment of respiratory infections in adults, April 2010 to March 2017
| Infection | Chronic disease category | No. of prescriptions* | Recommended antibiotic, % | No. of prescriptions with a dosage | Recommended antibiotic and dosage, % | Proportion ratio* (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted | Adjusted | ||||||
| COPD exacerbations and bronchitis | COPD only | 24576 | 94.5 | 24564 | 33.3 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 38398 | 91.9 | 38355 | 31.4 | 0.96 (0.94–0.98) | 0.95 (0.93–0.97) | |
| Mental health disorder | 31629 | 92.1 | 31596 | 32.8 | 1.02 (1.00–1.04) | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 101208 | 92.1 | 101097 | 32.2 | 0.99 (0.97–1.01) | 0.99 (0.97–1.01) | |
| Pharyngitis | None | 74188 | 63.5 | 74123 | 50.6 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 8736 | 53.1 | 8725 | 42.0 | 0.94 (0.92–0.97) | 0.98 (0.95–1.01) | |
| Mental health disorder | 21273 | 60.5 | 21241 | 47.0 | 0.98 (0.96–0.99) | 0.98 (0.96–0.99) | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 21719 | 52.8 | 21699 | 41.3 | 0.85 (0.84–0.87) | 0.96 (0.93–0.98) | |
| Respiratory disease | 22563 | 59.2 | 22536 | 44.7 | 0.93 (0.92–0.95) | 0.94 (0.92–0.96) | |
| Pneumonia | None | 23971 | 83.9 | 23933 | 40.3 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 26245 | 73.4 | 26112 | 37.6 | 0.97 (0.95–0.99) | 0.96 (0.95–0.98) | |
| Mental health disorder | 26515 | 73.4 | 26429 | 36.5 | 0.94 (0.92–0.95) | 0.94 (0.92–0.96) | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 71019 | 74.0 | 70731 | 38.5 | 0.99 (0.98–1.01) | 0.96 (0.94–0.98) | |
| Respiratory disease | 51273 | 74.2 | 50992 | 37.5 | 0.94 (0.92–0.95) | 0.94 (0.92–0.95) | |
| Sinusitis | None | 53750 | 86.4 | 53728 | 60.8 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 15959 | 82.4 | 15941 | 52.3 | 0.96 (0.94–0.98) | 0.97 (0.95–0.98) | |
| Mental health disorder | 27540 | 83.2 | 27522 | 55.0 | 0.96 (0.95–0.97) | 0.95 (0.94–0.97) | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 50174 | 82.7 | 50139 | 52.5 | 0.90 (0.89–0.91) | 0.94 (0.93–0.96) | |
| Respiratory disease | 36744 | 83.5 | 36716 | 54.3 | 0.96 (0.95–0.97) | 0.96 (0.95–0.97) | |
Note: CI = confidence interval, COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
↵* Categories of chronic diseases are not mutually exclusive, so the total number of prescriptions is not equal to the sum of prescriptions for each chronic disease category and unadjusted proportion ratios are adjusted for the other categories of chronic diseases. The adjusted regressions were also adjusted for year, age group, sex, geographical zone and quintiles of deprivation.